birdhouse

Hey Jay, I think you forgot the link...?

Wingy, if Jake likes peppery, he might like any or all parts of a dandelion. I haven't had any problem finding them in a number of stores throughout most of the year. If you know someplace where you can pick them fertilizer & pesticide free, so much the better. Trying to slog thru the more credible articles on nutrition can be enough to make your eyeballs bleed. Even if you're willing, 'the only thing 2 avian nutritionists can agree on is that the 3rd one has it wrong' (tu Sarasota ). And btw, the so called facts change ALL the time. I agree w/most of Dan's post. Swiss Chard is a good food to incl in a grey diet. It, like every good thing has it's limits. A varied diet is the key to a healthy diet. But I would respectfully tweak a couple of things. Swiss Chard would seem to be a good addition to a bird mash or bread. That could mean daily feeding when putting up months worth & freezing. Too much (whatever that may mean) could eventually become a problem however. It's not a bad thing to know up front to be careful when feeding commercial pellets & any food that's particularly "high in..." You might limit chard, spinach, broccolli, beet greens & such when feeding w/regular commercial pellets because they're on the high side for iron. Unless the pellets are specifically "low iron", they're already likely overloaded w/iron sulphate. How iron gets metabolized depends on a big bunch of factors. But too much can contribute to Iron Overload Disease, long term. Thought these articles were good for explaining different things about this problem. I tried to list them in order of "digestibility". I don't Know that I agree w/everything in the first link. But it's one of the easiest explanations that I found. The second looks long & scary. But it's pretty straight forward & I think it has a big bunch of common sense observation. The Nashville Zoo is not an easy read, but might be worth the effort. http://www.avianweb.com/ironstoragedisease.html http://www.australeclectus.com/articles.cfm http://www.nashvillezoo.org/piciformes/pdf/ironstorageinbirds.pdf

Please. You don't mess w/perfection! I know because I've been trying to concoct a healthier version ever since I tripped over that little discovery. But a little extra sugar is still worth it for anything that actually let me take Phenix photos. Finding out what it does for you & Gil was a very sweet bonus!

lol Did you have any idea what an adventure you were signing up for when you decided to get a couple of more more birds? That larger than life image I've always had of Macaws has certainly grown from reading your posts! Fun to read, though. If things keep up this way, you might be able to sell off the royalties to pay off the vet bills.

Oh, I think Gilbert loves you. I don't think you could have come thru a whole lot in a relatively short time, otherwise. I think he & Phenix are just really conflicted about how to demonstrate their emotions for whatever reason. I think Gilbert has a lot better chance of figuring out how to overcome his issues, though. It is all about celebrating the baby steps. If we're very very good there's the occasional mind blowing wondrous moments too!!

That used to be one of Phenix' favorite pastimes. I think he got as much of a kick from using the big bowls as from lording it over the the dogs. But it was funny & they all seemed fine w/it. So I let it go on for about a year. Xmas morning (because that's just how these things have to happen!) Phenix looked as though he was projectile vomiting. There is no other way to describe it. Tuft's Vet Hosp, 3 hrs away, was the only place w/emergency exotic care & to be honest, I'm very grateful it worked out that way. A local vet wouldn't have had the resources to save him. As it was, it took 3 horrible days to isolate the causes & another week before he came home to recover in a fish tank for a month. But he had to get all the way back to his normal routine before we finally figured out the actual source of this little drama. It had never, ever occurred to me how many germs were in a dog's dish, let alone the water bowl. And I certainly had no clue what so ever what went into most dog foods until that point. I'd even had a recipe for peanut butter dog food cookies that Phenix absolutely adored. http://www.naturalnews.com/012647_pet_food_dog.html Phenix was not happy that when the cookies stopped & he was strictly forbidden to get near the dog's bowls ever again. No complaints from the dogs, though. They really liked the change in diet a lot, too.

Wow, this page has a lot going on. First thing that struck me as I was catching up was still not hearing anything about plucking. If that doesn't just go w/o saying now, then it seems major. I really wonder if you may have hit on something about the cage's current vantage point & Gilbert's current attitude towards you. Maybe you could change that before you try to recreate the house so he & Java are totally separated. I don't know if that's going to be a good thing or not, but it won't ever give them the chance to work out a peaceful coexistence. What do you think you about just putting some more space between their cages, instead?

Now jewelry we don't have too much problem with. It's not like cloth where the first grab is likely to leave a mark. I've always been able to just take it away a few times & tell them no. So far nothing's gotten destroyed. Greyt to hear how delighted you are & how well things are going w/Kenzie, otherwise. They really are amazing, fascinating, wonderfully complex little beings aren't they.

That's funny, because I usually chop everything to bits & mix it together. Otherwise they play w/their food & waste more than they eat. It just works better w/my cast of characters to dice things up. They're all different. That's why you need to experiment. But however it works, you really want to get them to eat as much fresh food as possible. As much as it tends to be an adventure to get them to learn to eat good foods, it's much healthier for them. So it's worth it, honest!

Ok, good! Then it sounds like Zandische or Greywings may have as good a guess as any here. They really do things just to amuse themselves sometimes.

Has anything else changed? Is she still talking, eating, active? What's her posture like? I she hunched or fluffed up? Has anything around her changed? People, routine, objects?

^^^ But it not only solves the clothes chewing issue, it also takes care of the pooping problem & sharp claw punctures, too. :cool: There's a place near me that sells professional uniforms cheap. I've gotten a couple of very cute scrub tops for warmer weather. I use an ancient robe that's good for added warmth when it's cold. Although I don't really know how many winters the poor thing has left.

A few minutes of Biscotti always, always brightens my day!!

Everyone should be advised not to click on that link or open that page until it's fixed. It could just be an annoying spam or actually contain harmful malware. :mad: I'm so w/you!! These people are a real pain!!

Everyone should be advised not to click on that link or open that page until it's fixed. It could just be an annoying spam or actually contain harmful malware

Sweet almonds are usually greyt unless the bird's allergic, which can happen. Shell on is generally good foraging, too. Until Walter can actually open his own, you might give him a slight head start at one end, though. http://www.landofvos.com/articles/NutNutrition.html I haven't found any list that covers everything. But the link that I ref'd earlier is pretty comprehensive. http://www.avianweb.com/toxicfoods.html lists bitter almonds as especially toxic to birds. For anyone who isn't familiar w/bitter almonds - "The bitter almond is a cousin to the sweet almond and contains traces of lethal prussic acid in its raw state. Although the toxicity is destroyed by heat, the sale of unrefined bitter almonds is prohibited in the United States. Fifty unprocessed bitter almonds can be lethal to a human. Yet, bitter almonds are successfully processed to make almond extract and almond-flavored liqueurs." http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqbitteralmond.htm

Eww, that's even painful to look at. So sorry, Penny. Somehow my guys have only destroyed 1 usb stick & customized a remote. After that my chargers & computer stuff all went into my entertainment cabinet which has doors. So they're protected but still have easy access. I also found a great little 2 drawer thingy at Marshal's where the remotes get tucked away.

Haven't tried the acrylic cages because of the heat potential. But I like the way Miffy's is mostly bars. I've also avoided dog cages because there's no knowing if they have bird safe paint. Aside from the standard issue plastic cat carriers, this is my current collection. I live for the day when someone finally designs my version of the perfect carrier because I'm not in love w/any of them. The green one is fine if you want to take a fid for a short walk or ride. Nothing else. It's lightweight & secure w/some visibility. But it's not good to clean, has no cups, allows no sunlight in, seems a little warm & has very little room. Made worse because of the stationary perch placement. The white one is at least 10 yo. Very solid by today's standards. Folds up nice. Good door size & living space. It's a decent enough deck cage. But it's got no handle...? Everything has to be just right or it doesn't seem so bird proof & moving it tends to unsettle things. So I feel like I have to use a dowel to help w/support, rather than the Comfy Perch. Also, the only reason the springs haven't gotten picked apart is because no one is out of my sight when they're in it (they really don't do much good, either). The King's cage is actually pretty nice. I love the design & the security. It's the closest yet to my idea of a good carrier. But they cost a small fortune, take up as much space apart as set up & should be lighter to tote. It's better for me to take the bottom grate out. I don't miss it & it actually makes a noticeable difference in the weight.

I've got an old food scale that seems to work ok. But what if you put a dab of peanut butter on your scale's perch?

Ok, it's not pretty. lol But it worked when I logged out. So now maybe you can see all the official info for yourself. Hope that helps

Morana, this is the link to the English translation that I copied from. I think I made it work so you can just click on it & go to that page, now. http://www.jordbruksverket.se/swedishboardofagriculture/engelskasidor/animals/import/petbirds.4.6621c2fb1231eb917e680003127.XXXX

Sounds like she's not the only one who's getting well trained. Shall we take bets on who trains who first?? lol

More than happy if it helps. I just couldn't leave my guys behind if there was any possible way to take them w/me!

lol But not apparently this new member! Thanks Judy. Sorry again, Miffy

Thanks, whew! I actually looked a couple of times before I posted & again after. lol