LisaM

They have put an extension on the timing of implementing the new rules based on the delays in getting the passport. You could also go in person to a Passport agency and get one the same day. They are in about 20 cities so maybe one that you live near. For now, if you have a driver's license and your birth certificate (with a stamped seal), that works also I think. That all said, there is very little risk in you missing the boat. We just went on our first cruise in early December. If you go on excursions that you "buy" through the boat, the boat will not leave without you no matter how late the excursion may run (only would happen if something very unusual occurred, I'm sure they're very conscientious about that stuff). If you're just going to get off the boat and go shopping or hang on the beach for awhile, you'll have plenty of time to get back on board. (Just don't have too many margaritas and fall asleep on the beach! :-)) The interesting thing is that last October we were going on a trip to a little island called Nevis. I didn't realize my passport was expired until I got to the airport to check in! It was horrible what I had to go through in Mpls, Chicago and Puerto Rico to get to Nevis...but worth every penny! The interesting part of the whole thing was that when I was coming back to the US, the customs agent just took my passport, said, "you know your passport is expired?", stamped it and handed back. In other words, it was 10 times harder to get OUT of the country as it was to get back IN! How scary is that? Have a blast on your cruise! Lisa

Dan - I have a hard time believing that you offended anyone. My only reason for stating that is because folks on here don't usually hold back when they are offended by something (in case anyone didn't notice that!) :lol: There is definitely no lack of passion on this board, almost always in the spirit of the protection of and optimizing the quality of life for our darling feathered friends. Peace to all. Lisa

Thanks for the tip on how to actually give them to the fids. I'll do exactly that. Can't wait to get them. Lisa

Dan - the site below where I ordered some has them in much smaller quantities...16oz for $16.75 (plus shipping which for my whole order...I got some GSE and two bags of their bird-elicious foods...was $10.82 as I was a first-time customer). http://store.bird-elicious.com/nobutpanu16.html I'll post when I get the palm nuts and food from them and let people know what I (and more importantly, my fids, think of it). Lisa

OMG! I can't believe I didn't even see that stuff. I just got to the home page, and clicked on the links at the left. That is WWWAYYYY over the top! Yikes! :evil: Lisa

Thank you for your reply Reta. I was a bit concerned about the corn and the beans. My fids don't seem to have dietary sensitivities, but I'm sure like human allergies they could possibly come on at any time. Lisa

Has anyone ever used or heard of the product called Avian Miracle Diet? Any thoughts about it? Lisa

I just ordered some palm nuts and a couple of the different foods from the link in Makena's message. Has anyone ever dealt with them before? Their main product is a variety of species-specific "Bird-elicious" mixes. They sound pretty good but wanted to see if anyone else has experience with them? (And after reading this thread just had to give the palm nuts a try!) Thanks, Lisa

Thanks Reta - It's always great to get more information. More the better. Sprouting seems to be closer to what the birds would eat in the wild than just about anything else we can provide them. I need to go shopping! :-) Lisa

Posting some helpful (hopefully) information discussed in the IM window... Sprouting resource... http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html Talks about the benefits as well as how to do it and the types of seeds, grains and beans that are best. Some are easier than others. A great cookbook I bought is... The Healthy Bird Cookbook (A Lifesaving Nutritional Guide and Recipe Collection) by Robin Deutsch. I am by no means an expert in any of this and am just trying to do whatever I can find that makes sense and seems to be healthy for them! Hope this helps! Lisa

This thread was a few months old, but now that it's c-o-l-d (it was 5 degrees when I went to work this morning!), I figured I'd kick it up to the top with a reply and my own experience. I got my most recent bird (as opposed to "last" because you never know what the future will bring! ) last summer and she came with a heated perch. I have it in her cage and it's on all the time. I don't have it as the "highest" perch (didn't want her to want to sleep there if she didn't want the heat). I notice she falls asleep on her highest perch but often in the morning is down on her heated perch. She also goes right there after a shower for awhile, then will go on top of her cage when she's pretty much dry and start preening. I was obsessive about the heat at first and felt it many times each day. Now I put my hand around it each time I change paper, water, food, etc. My guess is that if it's too warm, they would just step off of it again. It has always been the same temp from waht I can tell. I'm thinking of getting one for each of my other birds as our home does get a bit chilly here in MN. No, I don't think it's necessary though, just a "luxury". All my best, Lisa

Just one thought - if she is three years old, could it be the start of "puberty" and getting a bit hormonal? If the vet check comes back all clear, maybe that is contributing. Someone else who has gone through that (mine was 12 when I got her so over that part) can speak to that if everything else is okay. Lisa

I'm so sorry to hear that. We went through that about a year ago with one of our dogs. Very difficult. Try to take comfort in the life you provided for another being on this earth and you're allowing her to go as painlessly and peacefully as possible. Best to you, Lisa

Hopefully that is the case..or not become large bird owners at all unless they do a lot of research first. My daughter had to do her first speech at school last year and chose for her topic "Parrots are Great Pets...but Not for Everyone!". She talked about the great stuff but really emphasized the cost, mess, noice and TIME involved. It was really great and a very proud moment for me. A few weeks ago she asked how old she has to be to volunteer at our local bird rescue (MAARS). The apple doesn't fall far from this tree, that's for sure! She loves to have people over who think it would be "so cool" to have a parrot...and experience a little reality along with the coolness (just the mess and noise seem to do it). We all get so sad at the sheer numbers of parrots needing new homes all the time. Okay, enough proud mom bragging talk...sorry! :-)

I have a 9 y/o daughter and 6 y/o son. The kids have been taught as much as I can about reading the birds' "moods", as well as their own energy levels and what's going on in the house at the time. Most of the success with kids/birds is going to come (in my opinion) from training the 'kids' more than the 'fids'. My kids know to never force the birds to step up or do anything. If they don't step up the first time, the kids just slowly lower their hand and walk away. (yes, I know that is reinforcing to the birds that they don't have to step up on the kids if they don't want to and the kids will go away, but that's fine with me.) The best part is when I hear the kids teaching their friends about the birdie body language, etc. Also, the kids never handle the birds when my husband or I aren't right there with them just in case. Lisa

What I love? * Getting together with family. * Anything to do with the kids and their excitement. * FINALLY having a year where both kids just told santa they wanted one thing because they already have so much and he should give the rest to other kids...how did that happen? I love it! * And the food, glorious food! Yum Yum Yum. What I don't love so much? * The pressure to find "just the right thing" gift for some people. I'm a horrible shopper and I would rather not do the "gift" thing except for kids. * Not having enough time to see everyone that I'd like to see. * Some family members drive me absolutely crazy...but who doesn't have some of that? Quick funny story - we had guests (distant relatives not seen for at least a decade) for T-Giving dinner so my aunt thought we should act civilized and say grace. They asked "Who wants to say prayers"...no one said anything for a few seconds until my 6-yr old son blurted out, quite loudly..."Prayers!". Love my little goofball, but I can only imagine what the guests were thinking! Happy holidays to everyone! I hope you get a ton of your "likes" and very little of your "dislikes"! Lisa

Hi all - thanks for the suggestions. I did try one of the Mr. Clean magic sponges and it didn't work (I was actually surprised because those babies seem to work on EVERYTHING!) They do sell a PVC cleaner I guess and I bought some but it is pretty strong so I don't want to use it for fear of not being able to wash it off enough. WonderMomma - I was concerned that sanding it might make it harder to clean in the future? Do you find that it still cleans up nicely when sanded? I have been drawing up several other "designs"...and looking into investing in a table saw or something better to cut it with and that part was the biggest pain. Thanks again, Lisa

Stephanie - I am so thrilled for you! Every one of these birds is a blessing to those of us lucky enough to share our lives with them. Lisa

Thanks guys! Anyone know what will take the printing off the outside of the pipes? I tried a ton of stuff we have around the house and nothing worked. Lisa

I have a CAG (who is right now sitting on the chair across from me saying, "Kenya...you da bird!" Gotta love 'em!). Susie: We also have a male and a female eclectus. Both are incredibly sweet, but our female may be an exception to the "rule"...at least so far. Our boy would sit with us all day long. She's very friendly, but much more active than he is and wants to move around more. She goes "cage hopping" when the other two birds are on their playstands in the other room. Lisa

As if I didn't have enough excuses to avoid cleaning the house, today my daughter and I bought about $30 worth of PVC and built this play stand (I did draw it out and have a plan ahead of time). Total height is 72" (top perch is 52"). Top bar will have a hook for toys and I'm thinking of changing out one of the connectors on the right for another hanging toy once they get used to the new stand. There will also be another ladder going to the floor so they can easily climb back onto the playstand. I wrapped the perches and ladder steps with tan Vetwrap. Now I just have to get the little buggers to not be afraid of it...They won't go near it. I'll give them awhile of just seeing it across the room. Thanks to you on this forum who have posted pics of yours you've built (and of course you, Joe, who is the master of playstands!). I'd never worked with PVC before, nor had I thought to try to make my own playstand before joining this site! Lisa

Hello Kerosene - I'm so happy to hear you're doing a lot of research and asking some great questions! I researched for about 4 years before bringin my first parrots home. As far as older/rescue birds...if you're patient and checking local resources, some fantastic birds become available for some really valid reasons. For instance, I got my CAG when she was 12 years old. That was a year and a half ago. She and my eclectus were in a home and the woman got a new job that was taking her away from home more than she was used to and felt it would be harmful to her birds if she kept them as she couldn't provide the home to them that she knew they deserved. I talked with her for over an hour on the phone when I saw the ad in the paper. Then my daughter and I went to her house and spent several hours with her and the birds before deciding I would take them both home (and she deciding that she would let them go with me...she turned down several people on the phone. Another good sign that someone has the best interest of the birds in mind!). My CAG is a very sweet girl. She takes awhile to get used to men (but then so do some of the rest of us! ), but eventually does and now steps up on just about anyone. She also has never bitten...yet. So, there are some very well cared-for and fantastic birds that periodically are looking for new homes. We just added another eclectus about 2 months ago (we've been looking for about a year). Similar situation in that the owner just wanted to find a home that would take better care than they felt they could anymore. That said, I was very anxious about it each time. I think I have been very blessed. Sorry for the long post. Just wanted you to know it's possible to end up with a great, older, bird...particularly if you're willing to be patient and do your homework (which it sounds like you are). Good luck to you! Lisa

Joe - that is FANTASTIC! What do you use to keep the pvc joints in place? Lisa

Thanks Judy. I just wanted to make sure before I soaked the birdies in it! :-) Lisa

Judy - you said you purchased yours at Walmart. The only Aloe Vera Juice I could find was a gallon jug with the brand name Fruit of the Earth. It is only 99.8% Aloe though, but does require refrigeration after opening. Is this what you have? It says it contains no sugars, starches, or thickeners. The ingredients list says: Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (a food preservative at 1/10 of 1%). Is this okay to use or are the other ingredients harmful? Thank you, Lisa