Talon

Just wanted to share what life in my house is like on Thanksgiving as I try and prepare dinner for our guest and family. I woke up at 7am to prepare the turkey and put it in the oven. Other than taking the dogs out, feeding the cat and then the dogs, all was quite. Kids still sleeping, birdies still covered and in their cages. Did all the usual morning chores, fresh food and water in all the bird play stands, trees etc. then off to take a shower ALONE without birds for a change! Next I decided to peel and cut all the potatoes before the birds get up and I have to fight with them to keep them away from the raw potatoes... finished with the then off to get the birds out of their cages for our usual mess of morning oatmeal and toast all over the kitchen table while the dogs wait for them to drop pieces all over the floor for them. Next comes the dreaded time to TRY and set the table.......heres where the fun begins..... I put the fancy tablecloth on the dining room table, then start putting the fancy plates on the table. By now Nilah has decided to walk all over the table and check out this new 'thing' on HER table. Just then, the cat decides to jump up on the table, and the shock of a tablecloth sent her claws out and immediately jumping back onto the floor taking half the tablecloth with her and Nilah flying as well. Okay, fix the tablecloth and reposition the plates, next got out the miniature salt and pepper shakers for each person and neatly placed them in front of their plates. Nilah quickly ran over to them and picked them up one at a time and dropping the onto the table to spill them everywhere. Next came the silverware,here I am running back and forth from the kitchen with forks, knives and spoons while Nilah was trying to rearrange them on the table. Back and forth I went from the kitchen to the dining room shooing her off every 2 minutes and refixing her mess. This went on all morning, me trying to cook, but peeking in every few minutes to see what mess she had made. She went from throwing the butter knives on the floor, to clanging glasses, to chewing the candlesticks, to tossing napkins onto the floor. All the time, I'm running in and yelling at her or shooing her off! She would then fly to the top of her cage and yell, "NO! BAD BIRD! NO NO NO! STOP IT! THAT'S BAD!!! BAD BIRD BAD BIRD BAD BIRD"! Well, I managed to finish cooking dinner, as the guests were arriving, the birds went into their cages and dinner survived! Some people want to know the differences between an amazon and greys.....? Well, during this whole crazy fiasco, my greys were sitting on the window sill or the back of the chairs being entertained by Nilal and me! Who's smarter? It sure isn't me!!!!!

I have 2 budgies. They have one cage that is 18" high and 32" long. I have a variety of perches and toys in it. They LOVE the mirrors near their swinging perch! This is our second set of budgies, both times we had a yellow one and a blue one. All males.....both times our blue one was the one who would let you handle him and sit with you, but it takes lots of time and must be consistently worked with. They eat seed and love mixed peas, carrots and corn. Plus small pieces of toast fed thru the bars. They prefer each other and are happy to be left alone from us. Our blue one LOVES to sit by the front of the cage and watch the other birds eat dinner with us at the table.

Thanks Dan! I Love this and am glad it doesn't get lost here.......it's definitely deserves reporting EVERY year! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I have a tag, a cag and a yellow crowned amazon. They aren't really what I would call friends, they will share the same plate if I am there with them,but mostly they tolerate each other. My amazon and tag will play chase around the house, ( all my birds are fully flighted) that always fun to watch and listen too as they scream sometimes while playing that game. I find an amazon a totally different experience than a grey. Much more entertaining and fun! Although my greys give me much joy and amazement, my amazon is an adorable cuddler, very affectionate and loving and an entertaining attention seeker!

Great advice everyone has given you! I buy a variety of frozen veggies for my birds. I offer them in a separate snack bowl from their regular food every day. My amazon loves the yellow and green whole beans. She enjoys having a veggie she can hold and munch on. Sometimes a raw carrot sliced long or raw beans she loves also. I always offer a variety, usually mixing a few together and adding uncooked pasta egg noodles. I am lucky, my amazon pretty much eats anything and everything!

Me too! Time to get the humidifiers out.

Very pretty. They get along well I guess since they are sharing the perch. .

Sounds like you have a busy household. What is an illigers macaw? Would love to see a picture.

Do you use photobucket? That is the easiest.

Welcome! You have a beautiful amazon there. Please tell us more, how old is he or she is, what is your birds name? How old is your bird. Tell us about the others you have.....

That's very funny Ray! Anyone owning an amazon, knows they WILL find a way to get your attention, not like a grey who will wait for us to come to them most times. This is a great topic! Nilah first starts out softly with a one word question..." bird??" if she hears no response, she will try again. BUT! If she hears my voice at all, she will yell, " BIRD!!! HI BIIIRRRDDDD!!!! ", over and over until I answer back.

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to share such a lengthy story so we all understand the situation a bit more. . I would keep this bird as comfortable as his lead shows you. If it were me, he has many new things to get used to, and keeping his surroundings in his cage that he likes will only help him feel comfortable quicker. I would put his favorite rock back, it comforts him, and as my rescue cag did, over time, she began to leave her comfort perch and venture onto other things and never uses that perch any more even tho it's still in her cage. As the others have said, it is too early to try much with him, just let him get used to his new environment, before you try to do much with him, let him lead you and learn that it is okay to trust you. He is afraid and doesn't know that you, a stranger means no harm to him. That takes time for him to understand. Remember, he doesn't know where he is, why he is there, who you and your family is, who these other birds are, what the sounds of your house is, and doesn't know this is his forever home. Just be kind, don't push him and he will start to venture out of his protective shell on his own once he realizes this new home is safe and loving. Please keep us posted, I look forward to hearing more, and seeing pictures...

Fantastic information! Thank you for taking the time to post this.

Great idea!! Yes, Doug, Yankee Candle sells air freshners for your car in all the candle scents. Your wife could use these in place of candles....yes, they have a fragrance, but it isn't being burned which seems to me less severe.

Doug, all my birds like to perch above my cupboards when I am cooking dinner. Sometimes they will open the cupboard door, or I occasionally leave it open as I am coming back to get something. Many times Talon climbs down onto the top shelf and plays in there. there are 2 times I can remember.....I couldn't find her in the house, heard some pees, searched everywhere, then it dawned on me....she was in the cupboard! She doesn't seem to mind at al, in fact she stays in it when I open the door. # times, I have found her sitting in a bowl.

I agree that candles are toxic to our birds. I'm not really into scientific data etc. BUT I do occasionally burn beeswax candles in my bedroom. I have burned fragrant candles also, and Talon sleeps in my bedroom. I burned fragrant candles during our recent power outage in the same room as ALL my birds in the evenings for light, they seemed okay by it. I do not do it often as I don't think I should be burning them at all. In my mind the accumulative affect of it worries me.....but then again, they will all outlive me I expect.....

Only vets here to go to. worth it to me as I won't do it myself.

Ray, she does that almost every morning. But, she hums as she is wandering over to it, so I know she's headed for trouble.......I thought it was cute too, until on day when I went in the basement, I saw her real reason for doing that.....SHE CHEWS THE INSIDE OF MY DOOR!!!! There was wood all over the floor inside......

Love the captions! Thanks everyone.

Your so lucky.....mine dont want to be held with towels...I can, but mostly, I am afraid to cut them. I dont want to cut too short.

I considered it, but after doing the math, its 24 nails! Plus, I don't have anyone willing to terrorize them and hold them properly.

Yup. Rikki my cag does that alot, mostly when she gets upset! IF I try to give her a spritz bath which she HATES! she gets so red that you think she's going to burst!

Great pictures, thanks for sharing..I never think to head outside and bring in dead branches.....I really have to start living outside the box...

How sad Doug......I agree with you in the fact that birds need a variety of stimulation to be healthy (mentally)

Took my 3 parrots to the vet today to get their nails clipped. their nail were like needles!! YIKES! All went well, they enjoyed the car ride very much. YES, I let them all out for the ride home, I looked like a tree! Curious, has anyone here taken them to the vet just for nail clipping? My vet charges $18.50 per bird. Wondered what the average price is elsewhere.