Why are you doing that??

Ohhh, of course darling, we know all about behavior.......

like I was just telling Peter, simply fascinating!

Something to think about:

1.  Why are you doing whatever you are doing right now? At least one of those things is reading this post, I know (smart, aren't I?) so I will use that. I know you are not reading this post instinctively.... even if you are not absorbing anything at this moment (this would be the point in the conversation my Mom would throw in "and then the dog drove to the store" to catch my Dad) at some point you starting reading my blog for a reason. I doubt it was because it was here, otherwise my readership would be over 7 billion, very impressive if I do say so myself, but not true. So perhaps it is because you have a parrot, reasonable enough, or would like one. That does not mean you inherently will read everything on parrots, plenty of people with parrots do not. So I can without too huge a leap assume it is because you are interested in parrots, or that you wanted to change something about your parrot, or about yourself in reference to your parrot, like care, etc. Going deeper, why are you interested in parrots, or why do you care to spend time changing something? Could it be you get pleasure out of learning more, or pleasure from the parrot, and therefore wish to improve their life? Or could it be that your parrot is driving you crazy, and you wish to change that- but then, why change it rather than re-home the parrot? Could it be for some reason you enjoy being around/having them?

This is the gold nugget in the bottom of that pan- you are doing the behavior, in this case reading my blog, for a reward!

Got it? Reading my blog is a behavior, and there is a reason for this behavior.

"bathing" in the food dish:

I have my reasons.........

2.  Look at any other area in your life. Can you really think of something that you do for no reason? If you can do it, it is a behavior. Period. There are various reasons for behaviors, and your reason may be quite unusual, or even non-discernible to yourself, but there is one. If you hate your job, why do you work? For money, or if an internship, to get money later (complex thinking, that, looking to the future!) It is easy to point out gold stars or ice cream cones as rewards for children, or bribes for adults (and yes, sometimes those two examples mix) but those are hardly the only time rewards are handed out, far from it. And likewise, there are many more punishments than being spanked for doing x as a child, or getting a speeding ticket for going too fast.

-Your reason for eating breakfast could be to stop being hungry (negative punishment, the removal of something unpleasant because of the behavior)
-or because you feel so much more awake after eating (positive reinforcement, adding something desired because of the behavior) 
- but if you take too long eating your continental breakfast you will be late for whatever it is you do (positive punishment, adding something undesired because of the behavior) 
- while if you eat all your dinner leftovers for breakfast, you will have none for lunch (negative reinforcement, the removal of something pleasant because of the behavior)

Got that? Looking at this, I can tell that I have learned to eat breakfast for two reasons, and what to eat for another two. Throw away what you think these four behavior terms should mean. You just need to know four meanings: negative is subtraction (the removal of x) positive is addition (adding X); punishment is something you dislike (even if someone else likes it) and reinforcement is something you like (even if others hate it.) So mix those four terms, and you have the four reasons for a behavior to continue, or to die out.

Floofing my feathers:

I feel more comfortable with them all in place!

Complex stuff, behavior. But not unreachable! There is a reason for your parrot's behavior just as there is for yours, just as there is for every living creature. Anything you can do is a behavior, and there is always a reason for any behavior that continues. Very important to remember, though, it might NOT be what you think is logical- if the behavior continues, there is still a reason. Period.


I miss you, budgies. Rest in Peace.

Ava

Ava passed away yesterday evening. Odd that she passed so close to Peter. I do not know quite how I feel about that; despite their divorce..... it somehow seems fitting. My two little budgie loves. The house seems strange without their cheerfulness.

I was with Ava after dinner, but when I came in later last night she was dead. She died on her perch. She had been as usual, happy, seemingly healthy, playing with her toys, chattering away, singing, talking, being her usual sweet demure diva self. Her dinner was one of my buffet style meals composed of her favorites- hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, grain mix, and apple chunks, so I am happy for that. It was so shocking to find her, but thinking about it later, I am glad it was sudden, that is a better way to go than suffering like Peter.

I have no idea of her age. I know she is at least 8, quite likely several years older. She has been though a lot in her life. Left outside the animal control at night, I adopted her the next day. With me she has laid one clutch of eggs, which she diligently cared for, and was obviously extremely upset when none hatched, as they were not fertile; it took her a very long time to get over that. She has had a fast growing lymphoma removed form her wing, a bad concussion and beak injury, badly injured from being caught in a toy, and multiple attacks from other birds despite my attempts to prevent them. She has survived it all, and maintained her disposition and dignity throughout. She was truly an incredible bird, and I, all of us, will greatly miss her.

Friends? Pretty Please?

Despite the fact that I do like to keep my birds in pairs, something that will always carry inherent risks, I consider myself fairly cautious about allowing any of my parrots to be together. Then again, since many people, such as one of my past vets, think keeping birds together at all can be quite dangerous and should be preferably avoided, maybe I am actually a reckless caretaker. Who knows. What I do know is that whatever the risk, my birds are much happier with friends. There have been disasters before (think Peter and Ava) but I just cannot really regret the situation which allowed the fight, and though I can hardly speak for any of my birds, I am not sure Ava necessarily regrets her life up until he flipped, either.

Let me be clear- I do not think anyone should get a parrot they do not want. Before getting any parrot, any bird at all, you need to think through how it could change your household, as well as how it definitely will; costs, mess, etc, are things that will always be there, at least. I mean really think about it. When I say a friend for your parrot is a good idea to consider, I mean it is a good idea to consider AFTER you have already decided to get another parrot. If you have decided another parrot is something you are prepared for, it is then I strongly recommend looking at the option of another of the same species.

However, I do not just throw any birds together and hope for the best. There are many fine people in this world, even some I admire, that I would likely try to kill (assuming my hatred of violence suddenly dissipated) were I forced to live with them. Sad fact. I see no reason why we should think animals, and in this case parrots, are any different. It is somewhat easier with flock parrots, like budgies and some conures for example, as they are small enough to have a fair amount of room in a standard flight cage and are pretty good at getting along with others though they may not be their heart's desire- think roommates. Contrary to popular opinion, though, many parrots do not naturally stay in flocks, and would in the wild spend most of their lives just with their intimate family- their partner, chicks, and not-quite-mature young. This means they do not generally take kindly to the idea of a roommate, since all they are looking for is "the one", so to speak. And, getting back to the first sentence in this paragraph, you can understand why getting another parrot, even of the same species and opposite sex, and expecting them to be "best best!" friends can be quite chancy. They may, and they may not. You have to be prepared for either outcome.

Yes, this has picture been posted before, 

but if you do not think it is cute enough for a re-post.....

there is just no hope for you.

I am perhaps more fortunate than the average parrot caretaker in the ability to search and find friends for my parrots. Since I foster, if I think one of my foster parrots might work out with one of my own, I can introduce them after quarantine and find out. Obviously, this is not an option for everyone, but it may be more of an option than you think. If there is a rescue near you that fosters out, such as Phoenix Landing, you may be able to try this for yourself. If the foster does not work out, you are still helping them get to a wonderful home. If fostering is not an option, carefully evaluate your parrot. Do you know whether they were ever socialized with other parrots, particularly those of their own species? Were they hand-fed from a young age? Do they play well on their own, or are they severely attached to you or another person? What is their general personality, and what personality do you think would mix well with them? These questions, save for the first two, are just guessing, but they will certainly improve your chances rather than a shot in the dark.

Frank was not socialized, was totally hand fed, and is a hyper active, very sensitive (formerly often depressed) special dude. Lola seemed a good match. Because of Frank, I had to decide what seemed to work and try it over several months, since Frank was not going to be able to make friends quickly. And yes, I was prepared to have a second quaker he could not be with. Back to Lola- she was older, calm, confident, and somewhat maternal. Most importantly, she knew she was a bird, and (shocker!) a quaker at that. I was hoping watching another quaker would help Frank, I could hardly imagine both how close they would become, and more surprising still, how much it would help Frank; he is a totally different bird now, and clearly very happy.

Clementine has quite surprisingly become good friends with the ekkies. She has been around many different birds throughout her life, including several other greys, but she never took to any of them and would attack if they got too close. Therefore, I was not planning on allowing her out with any of my parrots, even when she showed such interested in the ekkies, and they seemed to return her long-distance friendship. Chester took an almost immediate liking to her from across the room, which considering he has an even worse attack bird history, is very surprising. After several months of talking to and mimicking each other from their respective cages (and turning the bird room into a real college cafe in the process, seriously) Chester stole over to Clementine's cage one time when I was [practically standing on my head in a very unique and previously unknown yoga position] cleaning his own cage. Needless to say, I was a bit stunned to turn around and find him feeding her through the bars. I also lifted the ban on time out together, so now all three play quite happily on the play gyms and tree! You just never know, do you?

By the way, I do not recommend ever allowing one bird to "corner" another,

as in this picture, even if they are getting along. There should always 

be an escape route. Below the bottom of the frame 

is another perch Clementine could easily reach, 

but I moved her anyway after shooting this, just to be safe.

Peter

You can see his story here. I brought him to the new house since I could so easily keep him separate from all the others here, since I really really missed him. He was happy at my parents, but seemed as happy to be here as I was to have him. I am glad for that.

He died yesterday, March 17 at 4:20 in the afternoon. He started having seizures Thursday evening, which progressed to severe vertigo and vestibular issues. He only really wanted to be held by me the last couple of days, cupped in my hands as he was unable, too dizzy and weak, to sit up or balance on his own. On Friday I put two small toys with him which he did try to play with briefly with a little of his old spirit. He would give me some kisses when I was holding him, but by yesterday he was too tired for much of that. He was still sweet, still responded to me. I was holding him when he died. I had been holding him for a couple of hours. He was calmer, and in less pain than he had been. He seemed better and a bit stronger that afternoon, trying a bit pitifully to perch on my finger while leaning on my hand. I am glad, at least, for that.

I do not know when he was born. But he was at least eight. I think, in my poor human opinion, that he had a good life, at least after he came to me. It was his time to go, but he will be missed.

Never incite the scorn of a food-displeased Budgie

I was not feeling great this morning, so I took the liberty of giving myself a break and gave the birds some dry mix. This dry mix is one I make myself, and should not properly be called a mix, considering I keep most of the components separate so I can dish out the appropriate things to each bird. My dry smorgasbord, as it were, options include my seed (or grain, which is more accurate) mix, which is millet, puffed amaranth, quinoa, oats, and a few other things, plus various types of dry noodles (brown rice, quinoa, kamut, etc) dry individual larger grains (purple corn is popular) special seeds (milk thistle, sunflower, pumpkin...) dried veggies and fruits, special treats (Avian Organics Veggie Bars, Papaya Crisps, and Green Granola currently) and more. Very varied, as you can see. They do not get all that at one meal, of course. I also use parts of my smorgasbord as treats or for training, and add an item or two with my other meals. When I am giving a meal just of dry mix, as this morning, it usually includes some of the basic grain/seed mix, and several of the other items. My birds overall appreciate the variety and enjoy their shelf stable items as a contrast to all the fresh food.

Keep in mind I do not feed dry mix meals all the time, it is something I do when I am feeling particularly bad, as I was this morning. By taking the easy route, I give myself time to re-charge without getting burnt out. The dry mix meals are still quite healthy (I even have cooked and dried beans, so complete protein!) and as most people with parrots know, dry mix meals of some kind are usually quite popular. I do not think there is anything wrong with skipping the fresh food at a meal every now and again if you are particularly busy, tired, or sick. After all, for parrots living out in the great outdoors, meals are hardly devised by a nutritionist to be balanced and varied, optimum for each individual. They often eat just one, or just a few kinds of food while it is in season, and switch to another when the first runs out. They are not always at an "all you can eat health food buffet." Therefore, the occasional dry mix meal is fine.

All that said (and re-said and re-said and re-said, bored yet?), Ava was not pleased. No, not pleased at all. A sprinkling of dry treats throughout the day and with a fresh meal is fine, but all on their own? Puh-lease.

By dinner time, not only was the food still there, but Ava was giving me one of her stares, the one I call the "gentle reprimand gaze." If not attended to, it is later followed by the "disdain glare," and the "scornful air." I try my best to avoid those.

I have learned my lesson. I still do not feel well, but I have a pot of some Avian Organics mash cooking (with lots of extra dried raw kale and cilantro flakes added at the end, they love them and so easy!) along with butternut squash and peas. Hopefully Her Highness will accept my apologies for the lazy breakfast and graciously allow me back in her favor. She really is quite good about that.

And finally, a few quick pics of the Aussies from yesterday-

Miss Patty loves the view. 

I think it is funny how the reflection in the window 

makes it look as if there is a building out there....

nope, just trees and grass.

Sleepy time for Ava. Whatever they tell you about a 

goodnight sleep, Ava feels a good afternoon nap is 

equally important.

Miss Patty and Linus, hanging out.

Yo-yo, who is only in one picture since he spent most

if the time on me. In this pic he is asking to come to me.

In a minute he will fly over.

Fluffy Linus!!

Pretty Miss Patty. She is really showing her age, 

and her bald spots on her face just keep inching bigger and bigger, 

but she is just as sweet and nearly as active as ever.

And she certainly keeps Yo-yo on his toes!

They wanted to take a walk

And I wouldn't let them. As Chester has a deep hatred for all birds, and the cockatiels can be incredibly annoying, they are never out at the same time. This means there are almost always discontented parrots here. To combat this irritating fact, both Yo-yo and Chester have started to take advantage of the simpler door latches on their temporary cages.

Yo-yo has actually succeeded in his quest, something he is quite proud of. It is not the easiest door to open, as it has to be lifted up and pushed out and down. Still, he has figured it out. This means he can not only get out when it is dangerous out of the cage (i.e. Chester is loose) but also is in danger from the door itself. The second time he tried to open it (the first time I convinced myself I had left it open, which I am sure was very amusing for all others involved) he had a very narrow escape with being choked. He managed to open it partway, and re-lock it on his neck. Fortunately, I was in the room, and was alerted to his predicament by the strange strangling noises coming from the cage. Don't worry, he was fine after being released and cuddled, and has suffered no long term damage. However, it puts a lot of pressure on me to remember to lock the doors every time; I have forgotten, though he fortunately managed to open the door safely.

Chester has yet to get the doors open on his cage, but not for lack of trying (and frustration at Yo-yo's new found ability!) He has to lift a latch to get the door to open, and is getting very close. I am beginning to wonder whether I should lock the doors now before he figures it out, but then, he is so dedicated to it, I figure a nice puzzle is good stimulation!

Of course, Frank can already get out of everything, so his doors had large locks on them from the beginning!

Ava is the only one that seems disinterested with doors. If she wants to get out (she is only locked up if Mr. Green Jeans is out) she climbs to the top corner of the cage, and curls up into a little ball, with her beak on the bar, and her feet on either side of her head. Awkward, I know! Once in this position, she alternates between pushing hard against the bars with her body, looking at me and begging (sort of, that position, you know......) and calling to be let out. Very convincing, and I must say, very effective!

And Oscar has gone home!

Surprisingly, my "shameless endorsement" of Oscar worked, and he has found a lovely new home, with Karla and her family, who are just waiting to spoil him! He was taken there just a few days ago, and I know he will be very happy there. You can also check out her recently started blog, and see how all of her flock is doing.

Now, just mentioning it again, if anyone is interested in an amazingly tame and incredibly loving Indian Ringneck girl, don't hesitate to contact me!

Yet another Update on Oscar

Budgies are hard find homes for. They really are. Oscar is doing very well, and I know he would make an amazing friend for someone, if they would only contact me. I think though, unfortunately, most people just go to a petstore where they can pick out which budgie they want, or to a breeder so they know they can get a young, friendly one. The majority of people that would think of adopting a budgie off of petfinder are those that are die-hard rescuers. And the number of them that want to adopt a budgie are still fewer.

It is not that a lot of people don't have budgies, or that a lot of people that believe in rehoming don't have budgies. It is just that if they want one, they either don't live around here or already have a budgie, either one of the many that need homes, or one they bought as they were just getting into parrots, before they realized how many needed homes.

Still, budgies are amazing parrots, and Oscar is an especially nice budgie (judge for yourself if I am biased in saying that!) He is very playful, and hilarious to watch. He is also more food motivated than most amazons, which means he is highly trainable. He loves people more than birds, and loves chatting with everything more than that, so he is certainly a good parrot to have a conversation with, even if his English is hard to make out, being mixed in with everything else he says.

I am still looking, though, so if any one reading this is desperate for a personable budgie friend that will appreciate any time you have for him, let me know!

(And yes, this is a shameless use of this blog to convince you to adopt this budgie.)

Aging birds

There is a down side to rescuing, especially with the parrots that naturally have shorter life spans. It is not only a matter of how old they are when you get them, but how good their care was for the first part of their life.

Some of my parrots are quite young, like Yo-yo, Frank, and Claudia. Yo-yo had a very rough early life, but as I got him when he was around 6 months old, those health effects were easily reversed (although he is still "underweight"from being starved, even if he gets a stick of millet a day.) Claudia's liver is a little weak because she was weaned far early, but she also escaped any other major, health-affecting, abuse. Frank has just plain avoided any bad homes, his only problems are behavior wise!

Some of my parrots are older, though, and from not-so-great homes. I do not know Chester's age, other than that he is at least 10, but I do know that the last eight years of his life before I got him were very, very rough, for both his physical and mental health. I am hoping that his young age will help him eventually recover from the physical (and mental, of course!) health effects; he has already greatly improved. Peter and Ava are both a minimum of 5, easily more, and are both showing their age. Even though budgies should be able to live 10-20 years, most of today's modern budgies (i.e, the "bin-o-budgie" or "box store budgie") are bred with such bad bloodlines, and often live is such poor conditions, that 5+ is not a very young age anymore, unfortunately. Yaz seems to be doing the best of these older birds; he is around 10, but still seems to be going strong (aside from his very closely shaved chest!)

The ones I notice the age and care factor in most are Miss Patty and Lola. I have no idea of Miss Patty's age, but she certainly does not seem very young. I know she has had many homes, and I strongly suspect in the first she was a "battery hen" breeder. When I got her, she was not doing well and seemed very sick and very underweight. She greatly improved with better care, but has slowly declined again in the past few months, and now seems rather fragile though happy.

Lola is over 12, really not that old for a quaker considering they should be able to live to 30 or 40. I do not know much about the care in her first home, other than that she had heavy metal toxicity when I got her, and smelled of cigarette smoke and laundry detergent (shower, anyone? She actually had to be "aired" with open car windows on the way home.) She also greatly improved, but this winter and Spring she has really started to show her age.

Both Lola and Miss Patty went to the vet in March, and were declared very healthy, all things considered, so at least I know that much. I try to give them lots of supportive care, which helps.

Despite all you do, all the good care you may give them, or be prepared to give them, some things can not be changed. I would not trade taking in these birds for a minute; giving them even a week of a better life is worth it, but it is so very sad. To see how wonderful these birds are when given that chance. To think that no one has before stopped to notice this, to even learn what some of their most basic needs are. And that these birds will pay in years for that neglect and abuse.

The Budgie Saga continues......

You can probably guess what that means if you have read my last post about Peter and Ava. Peter started to get aggressive again. Don't worry, Ava was not hurt, I removed her before it came to that. But he was definitely very aggressive; I came into the room to find her hiding in the back of the cage, only to be chased if she came to his attention. Not very nice!

I have moved Ava into my bedroom, where she seems to be doing fine without Peter, and is enjoying the extra spoiling, being the only bird to rule the room. She loves having her own playgym, and though she is happy to play in her cage during the day (she is never locked in it unless I will be gone for a while) she has decided that the only way to sleep is outside her cage. The first night, she got out of her cage, as the door was not locked securely, and slept on the playgym. Every night since, as soon as it is time for bed, she climbs out of her cage, if she was in it, to sleep on the playgym. I suppose I could lock the door to keep her in it at night, but it does not seem to necessary; she is very well behaved!

I moved Luna into the bird room next to Peter, so he would have budgie company. Remarkably, they have hit it off extremely well, possibly because they are both males. When Luna first came out of quarantine, I tried encouraging his taming by bringing Ava into the room and showing him how she trusted me. That did not work, as he hated the sight of her, and voiced this dislike with constant shouting of the budgie aggression call. Rather a strong reaction from a male, I thought! He immediately became inseparable form Peter, and they seem to be closer than Peter and Ava ever were. Just goes to show that birds really do chose their friends! They are still not sharing a cage, but have cages right next to each other, and spend much of the day in the same cage or on the playgym together. I want to make sure there is no aggression, though.

Having Peter with Luna has really helped, though, for he is not yelling for Ava or sitting quietly, lonely and depressed. I do not have to worry about him (too much) which makes separating them soo much easier. Luna was waiting to go to a large aviary with other budgies, but I have to figure that out now. For now, I am just going to leave things as they are, and figure it out as I go. About how I seem to do everything with these guys!

Marriage counseling (for budgies)

Peter's mysterious illness was never 100% diagnosed. As I said in a previous post, I had left him with Ava during the first part of his illness, to encourage him to eat and get better. That did not work, and is something I will always feel a little guilty about (a little because I think he would have stopped eating completely and died if I had separated him from Ava right away.) As he finally improved with the addition of an iodine supplement, we are assuming that was the problem, and that it was nothing contagious. I still kept him separate from Ava, because this attack was the third time he had attacked her (the other two were not as serious, and had both occurred during the ever wonderful Spring).

Although he did finally later improve with the iodine and other immune supplements, he did not fully improve, and spent most of his time sitting, depressed. He still sang some, but spent most of his time calling to Ava, and she to him. As this went on for almost five months, I finally gave in. Ava was underweight from not eating as much as she had, as was Peter.

I had been keeping her separate from the tiels during their egg laying, as they were rather territorial. One evening, I came into the bird room to discover Ava was missing, having escaped from her cage, and though I searched all over the room, I could not find her. After about 40 minutes, I decided to bring Peter into the room, in hopes he would call to her and she would answer. That planned work, and I found Ava underneath a piece a furniture (of course I had checked it several times form all angles already, but she is very tiny) As soon as she came out from under the bed, she flew to Peter, and they both started eyepinning like crazy, preening and feeding each other. After watching them for half an hour, I decided I really couldn't separate them again. I know, I know. He has a history or attacking her when he is stressed, like his recent illness. Still, they had both been so unhappy for so many months, with no improvement.

It has been a few weeks, and they still seem to be doing fine together. After their long separation, Peter definitely acts different around her. Whatever she wants, she gets, and he is bossed around no end. I am keeping them in their own flight cage, at first in my bedroom away from other birds, and now in the bird room, where they like it best. Despite my misgivings, it has achieved the short term goals of helping Peter fully recover (his latest check-up confirmed he was in perfect health) and gain back all his weight, as well as help Ava gain back the little weight she had lost.

I still feel a little funny about it. I said I would not let them back together, that Peter was too violent. But they are so happy together. What do you think? Together, which makes them happy unless he attacks her? I will still be even more careful about separating them if there is any cause for unusual stress, and hopefully that will be enough.

But what I would really like, in an ideal world, is parrot marriage counseling. Now, where do I find that?

Update on budgie diet

Well, Luna is as stubborn as ever, and has refused to try anything new, even cooked seed. However, Oscar seems to be coming around! He ate all the cooked seed, and has since then conceded to gobble up red rice (which happened to be what I had) and cooked grains, and has even eaten little tastes of the birdie bread and vegetables/fruits! He refuses to eat more than a few bites of the birdie bread or veggies/fruits, so he is not really converted, but from my position just outside the room, I have definitely seen him come up from the food dish, munching, with some hanging from his beak. So that brings Oscar's list of "edibles" to:
-'parakeet' seed mix
-millet
-lettuce
-egg
-sprouted 'parakeet' seed mix
-cooked seed
-cooked grains
-rice
-bits of birdie bread and bits of veggies/fruits

A nice list!

On top of that, Oscar is getting to be very playful. For the longest time, he would only sit on his perch, looking bored, but he has finally started playing and chewing on everything! Luna is also getting a bit more playful, though he prefers bouncing around the cage yelling to sitting and chewing on something. As long as they are both enjoying themselves!

Smarts, training, and budgies

I have always said budgies are just as smart as larger parrots, and can be just (or even more) trainable than larger parrots, depending on your bird's personality. However, many people seem to be of the opinion that budgies do not even make great "pets", let alone being just as smart as their larger counterparts.

I recently heard Dr. Irene Pepperburg speak about Alex and her studies, and was thrilled to hear her opinion on the trainability and intelligence of not only other Africans Greys, but also other parrot species. To sum up: Alex was likely not an "unusual genius" but rather, an African Grey that loved learning through speech, and that had 8 hours of training a day (which makes a huuuge difference, obviously!). She went on to say how the other two greys they are working with are just as smart, but with different learning styles, so they therefore need different teaching styles and can learn different things from Alex. She also said that other species were just as smart as Greys, but again, would probably have to be taught in a different manner that worked with their particular personalities. And finally, she mentioned that though they had tried working with budgies, the shorter attention spans (and life spans) were more difficult to work with in her studies. I can't say I really blame her on that score, but I was very happy to hear how much she did love budgies, and that though they were not right for her studies, she does not feel them to be unintelligent.

However, a shorter attention span does not mean they can not be trained. I recently saw this video, and thought it portrayed exactly how amazing budgies are! Aren't they adorable?

Switching diets

I was always so grateful, reading about other people's diet switching trouble, than I never had much issue with that. Eventually, they always switched, at the most, after a month. I just put the new food in their dish with a bit of the old mixed in, and fed them that for breakfast, with their old food for dinner. No issue. Perhaps I had to work harder to get them to eat certain foods, or to get them to eat fresh instead of cooked foods, large pieces instead of chopped, etc., but it was never, at least in my book, too much of an issue to switch the diet and get them eating fresh food, even with the little guys.

Until these foster budgies.

I have tried all the usual methods I have heard of, many I have never tried before. Still, unless it is sprouts of their regular seed mix (specialty seeds are not wanted here, not that I don't keep trying) or a piece of lettuce hanging from their cage (that is barely nibbled at, I think), it is ignored. No, moaned over and complained about would be more accurate. But not tasted.

I know I am not alone, lots of other people have trouble switching their birds diets. Still, it is frustrating. And it is harder with birds that are still "not very tame." Sure, they will get up on my shoulder or hand if they are feeling particularly brave, but look to me for what to eat? Not quite there yet. As they are in separate cages (they do not get along at all), side by side, I am trying to convince them that the other is eating the food, so it must be safe. I put the new food in one cage, and the seed in the other, hoping that the first budgie will see the second budgie eating, assume it is the same food, and dig in. I have been trying this for a week (before I gave them the same food, so if one was at least digging in the dish it gave the same impression) but no luck yet.

I will keep at that, but today I am trying cooked seed mix. A bit odd, I know, but millet is often served cooked for people, so I assume the other seeds in there can stand a bit of cooking, too. I also added some amaranth, just in case today they would try a new seed. And because I couldn't resist adding some veggie, I added some chopped parsley. Just a little, and cooked it all in cranberry juice (unsweetened, try not to pucker reading that!) I am hoping, if they eat this, they will get used to cooked foods, so I can start adding other cooked items. It didn't work (yet) using sprouts to get them used to fresh food, so I will try it the other way around!

I have also read that macaroni and cheese, mixed with shredded carrot and chopped broccoli tops, with a bit a seed squished in the top, has been amazing for switching little birds. That I have not tried. I wasn't sure I wanted to feed them something so unhealthy, but I might come around to trying that. Maybe. If I get really desperate.

Or, as a last resort, I will put them with my cockatiels, so they can see other birds eating fresh food happily (and believe me, Yo-yo eats anything happily. Usually while whistling or giving kisses.)

Any new ideas out there?

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.

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.

Happy New Year!

I hope 2009 is a wonderful year for everyone, including Planet Earth and all her creatures!

Watching TV last night, like every year, I got my year's dose of many types of music, you might say. Nothing against them, what music you like is very personal, but most of what I heard last night really wasn't for me. So, as I wondered why anyone could go through an entire song without saying an intelligible word, I got to thinking about what type of music my birds like best. Their taste really varies, in fact, the only way I know some of their favorite song types is by soundtracks. Soundtracks are big pleasers around here! On the average soundtrack for the average happy movie, you usually have orchestra music, an upbeat song, and a quiet/sad song, along with whatever else they felt the need to throw in. The whatever else is where I find out the distinct tastes for music types some of my birds have!

Peter- Peter is tricky. He loves any happy, bouncy music, but what he really likes is Latin American music, or something electronic, with very fast words in funny voices. Not very many songs here fit that, but again, soundtracks can be amazing crowd pleasers!

Ava- Ava usually prefers nature sounds, or soft piano music, though if she is in the mood she will also sing and dance along quite happily to the same fast word songs Peter likes.

Yo-yo- Yo-yo loves music! I believe this is because he is actually a composer in disguise. This is evident by the whistled concertos he composes, and his favorite Patriotic mix, an original blend of Yankee Doodle, 1812 Overture, and several marching songs. He loves listening to happy, bouncy music. However, his favorite type of music to listen to are big Orchestras. As soon as I put on a CD of waltzes or Beethoven, for instance, he immediately starts whistling along right with the music, in the most remarkable fashion. You may have heard of the dancing Snowball, but the whistling (and dancing the whole time, of course) Yo-yo has him beat!

Miss Patty- she is a tuff one. I have not found a song she really seems to enjoy, though she does calm down quite a bit with the nature sounds. She is not very fond of any music Yo-yo likes, as she doesn't seem to like the way he starts dancing around, walking away, and then walking back to whistle right in her ear!

Frank- Frank likes anything, absolutely anything, though he prefers it to have words he can sing along with. Lacking words, he will hum happily away, or add his own words (usually a mixture of "Fraaaaank, Good Booooy, Frank!" and "I'mmmm a sweeeeet Fraaaank! Good Birddddd!" None of these phrases is usually true, however much he wants to sing them!) He loves singing along to just about anything, though he usually prefers female voices, with a few exceptions, since they are easier for him to sing with. Or easier for him to think he is singing with, Frank is pretty much tone-deaf, though no one has the heart to tell him.

Lola- Lola loves Christmas songs best, hands down. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is a piano, a choir, or just one person singing happily, they are her favorite. Besides Christmas music, she likes anything with a strong beat she can dance with.

Yaz- Yaz is not picky about his music, period. He likes strong beats, but lacking a strong beat, he will create one. He dances to anything and everything, and makes his snapping noise along with the music. The only problem for onlookers would be Yaz's inability to keep the same tempo to save him!

Claudia- Claudia loves just about any music, as do most of my birds. However, she does have some definite favorites. For one, she calms down considerably, and sometimes even softly sings along with, nature sounds and soft piano music. She also sings along wildly with waltz music. This annoys Yo-yo no end, as Claudia, sweet as she is, is the "worst singer" here. Beeps, whistles, words, and any other noise she can make are all over the place, at all different volumes, with the occasional fire alarm thrown in for good measure. She is so joyful, it is hilarious to watch her sing, and even funnier to watch Yo-yo get all huffy trying to correct her!

Chester- Chester really shows very little preference. I think I might have heard him singing along with some of that ever favored happy, bouncy music, but I cannot be sure. As with most my birds, he does calm down listening to nature sounds and soft piano music, but not to the degree the others do.

Really a great variety of tastes!

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?

Ava, post Surgery

Sorry for not posting this earlier, but things got a bit busy this week!

Ava's surgery went fine. She got a full check-up and bloodwork before being put under anesthesia, and everything came back absolutely fine, so they went ahead with the surgery. I suppose this means that whatever is bothering Peter is most likely not contagious, as wouldn't she in the stress of this limpoma have gotten it, too? I suppose this means, also, that I really was just worrying too much when I thought she was showing signs of whatever is bothering Peter. Nothing like knowing your birds are ok to make you feel better!

Ava goes back in two weeks to get her stitches removed, earlier if there is any problem. I have not seen any sign of her picking at it, or her bleeding so far, so I think that is ok. The vet did not think her limpoma looked at all dangerous, just like a basic benign limpoma, really. However, he did say that since it grew so fast (just 1 month to grow to the size of my finger nail) that it could grow back. If that is the case, since you do not want to continue removing one limpoma after another, she would likely have to have her wing amputated. Not fun! I know birds can adjust to that fine, but I hope this was just a one time issue, and it resolves itself.

Ava is doing very well, eating playing, sleeping, and looking for attention. She is just such an enjoyable bird to be with!

You can barely see the line of bare feathers from the surgery. I am
not sure why they pulled out the ones on the top, as Ava had
already plucked the under part of her wing clean.

She is slightly messy in these pics,
apparently applesauce was made to be tossed!
That and her molt, of course, which always gives
my birds a slightly ratty appearance.

Bad Luck for Budgies

Ava seemed to start showing similar symptoms to Peter's last week. I immediately separated her out, and put her on some immune boosting things, as well as a high fiber (on the off chance this does turn out to be diabetes, I have wondered about that) easily digested diet, similar to what I did/am doing with Peter. I also called the vet, and since she also has the limpoma that may as well be removed as long as we are going in (as long as he deems her healthy enough), they made the appointment for tomorrow, as that is his surgery day.

I could perhaps be imagining that she is showing the early symptoms of whatever is bothering Peter. I am, after all, looking for any sign someone else has the same problem and that it is contagious. She is nowhere near as bad, and she does have a massive limpoma on her wing that could easily be the only thing that is bothering her. Still, it is much better safe than sorry.

Hopefully the vet visit will go well.