birdhouse

Everyone stopped to watch this & I just kept playing it for them. Couldn't tell what Kura was thinking, but I hope it was something that will help her feel better about baths. Kura hates baths.

Most of our birds aren't lucky enough to be raised by such a flock. Seems right that Bear & Bean should be happy & well adjusted with flock members who are logically even greater animal lovers & more knowledgeable about critters in their natural state, being connected to a game reserve. It may be hard for some of us in the concrete jungle to imagine your lifestyle. But it certainly seems to be working well for your fids. Thanks, I enjoyed this & hope you post more. And Kura, my SI Eclectus. hopes you might post something about the Vos pair you spoke of, too.

Someone asked a little bit ago about older birds learning human speach. Yes, I think they can. My TAG Phenix was a rescue, probably wild caught & guessing 10-15 yo when I got him. When he finally started to talk, he spoke in my voice & everything was related to his surroundings at our house. I think he learned everything after he came to live here. For the first 6 months he growled & screamed his misery while I talked & sang to him. Otherwise, he was utterly silent. Eventually, that changed to where he would quietly mumble to himself in a corner. He didn't want to draw attention to himself because I'd listen & he knew it. They're so hyper-aware of everything! The first thing he ever said to me was "What.!?" when he had had enough & wanted to be left alone. I thought it was coincidence until he said the same thing to the vet as he was observing him. That time, the attitude was unmistakable. :mad: From the beginning, he has proven to me that he often knows just what he's saying... "Good night" bed time prep. Also doubles for good bye when he knows I'm leaving the house "No. Stoppit... Baaaddd!" He want's the dogs to stop rough-housing near his cage "Sorry!!" He just bit someone "U OK...?" Something loud & surprising happened or maybe he just bit someone & isn't the least sorry "U OK...?" (then laughing) Something loud & surprising happened to someone he doesn't like laughing in all the right & wrong places. Sometime he has a really nasty sense of humor! sound of running water it's time to change the water dish sound of swallowing You should be sharing something you're drinking sound of crunching You should be sharing something you're eating Windows sign-off sound You should get off the damned computer! After 20 yrs, I honestly take communicating with him for granted. Yesterday, Phenix didn't want me to clean his cage. At some point, he slipped up behind me & very threateningly said, "Move!" I automatically said, "Move, PLEASE." & moved on to clean a different part of the cage before I got bitten.

Ah, terms of endearment, in parront-speak. Thanks, that was great!

Honestly, this made me tear up a little. It's such a good story for so many reasons! I really do believe in karma & this is just another reason why. I think the work you & Zoeie do together to get her hand tamed will make you appreciate her that much more. I wish you many, many very, very happy years together.

I whipped up 3 tubs that night. Each got customized with whatever my ekkie, quaker or grey would enjoy. 2 are empty & waiting to be another day's big fun. 1 hangs on the side of a cage, ignored. Can you guess which one ...? That, of course, would be the grey's. He's still on the other side of the cage. He's not growling or cowering, so there's still a very small chance he might eventually accept it. But even thought he watched me fill it with his favorite stuff, the one new part makes it scary. I've had Phenix for 20 years. I guess I've made him toys for 10ish. The one thing I know for sure after all this time ...? How to handle rejection. :cool:

I use it all the time, but I got given a ton of it from someone who used to make her parrots toys. When I finally have to go get my own, I think I'd steer clear of the hardware store. Unless someone posts otherwise, I'd be afraid that it might not be processed in a bird-safe way. Especially because of my ekkie, I tend to be a little extra cautious. I can't vouch for anyone from experience, but I've looked on Ebay under "bird sisal rope" & seen it posted, in various sizes. Unless someone has anything better, that's where I'll probably get what I need when mine runs out. Hope it helps.

That's pretty much how I started. Also, my birds like to watch while I make things. Don't know if it's the process, or they're hoping to get a new toy out of it. Either way, I think it helps to introduce them to whatever I've made. They're interested in almost anything new. And, as we all know, they have a sense of humor.

My Grey used to yell at my old dog in my voice. He'd yell his name when the dog was sound asleep & then laugh like crazy when the dog came straight up off the floor out of a sound sleep. The dog's been gone for 15 years, but every so often, Phenix will still call for him (versus yell). And even though it makes me a little sad, it always makes me stop to remember. These parrots have many surprising ways of effecting our lives. Welcome to parronting & our adventures in it.

Hope you find his family. Can't imagine how worried they must be. How very lucky he found someone caring & bird savvy. How is he?

It may take a whole ten minutes away from your next sensational rescue, but I say "Go for it !!" Seriously, there were 3 tubs to the pack. They were all filled & hung in about 15 min. It took me longer than that to post about it because I forgot where I put the silly camera cord. :confused:

This little tub looked like a great thing to load up with fun stuff. This isn't a post about one of those big, beauties we all love to admire on this forum. This is a down & dirty, quick & easy (did I mention cheap ?) foraging toy I hope will amuse Phenix. I had just thought I'd fill it. But I decided to tie some of the pieces for three reasons. Now, it looks more interesting. Everything won't end up on the floor while my fickle fid flings everything looking for a favorite. And while he's busy flinging things, he will have unknowingly created a new hanging toy for himself. Hopefully, it will be less scary because he's already mouthed every part of it.

5 points for good intentions... ?

Say that again the first time George goes crazy for something you made with your own 2 hands

Hooray! I take that to mean you won't give up

It has a body, wings & a tail. It's got true red. I don't think I can explain that in a human way, but I can see it as being threatening to the bird. Maybe it just moves wrong. Maybe take out the red ribbon & stick something that doesn't float into the ball. Qtips, popsicle stick, straw maybe. Could roll up paper or crunch up a kleenex or coffee filter.

Come on now - don't just give up! Just figure out what's scary. Too big? Smells funny? Tastes bad? Makes weird sounds? Wrong colors or shapes? Moves or hangs in a threatening way? My Grey's afraid of everything. I have to really work to figure out the acceptable 2%. For instance, Phenix is terrified of florescent, translucent plastic parts (guess how long it took me to figure that one out). I think making bird toys is a terrific way to understand my fids. It saves me tons of money. It helps me give them a greater variety of things in their environment. It gives me a real high when I get it right & someone jumps on a new one & doesn't leave it alone all day. Like giving someone the absolutely perfect Christmas present any day of the year. You got lucky with the way George accepts store bought toys. Maybe you just need a few tries to get it right. Honest, you'll know if was worth the effort once you figure it out.

Thanks. I kind of hated to post a picture of Kura because she's molting. She also made a mess out of her plumage when she went mega-hormonal this year. Which is another reason why I try to find new ways to keep them amused as much as possible. She's a feather-barber & my Grey gets depressed & evil.

PS to my earlier post... Whatever conclusion I might have drawn about the thread locker, the lack of response from the manufacturer would not sit well with me, either. I would wonder whatever else I can't know might be incorporated into their toys. It would certainly give me some trust issues.

I'm only reporting on what I researched. I don't know that I'm drawing any right conclusion, so I hope others weigh in on this, as well. First, I Googled "thread locker mds". That gave me a Material Data Sheet which I find is a good way to start when I question a product's safety. You can read it at http://www.industrialbolt.com/msds/metalink/HP90%20THREADLOCKER%20MSDS.pdf. Looks as though this information is all about the uncured product, so isn't very helpful with your potential issues. You will find emergency numbers on the sheet. You can call & tell them your 3 year old was chewing on whatever & act accordingly. When I read this sheet, Ethyl-2-Cyanoacrylate made me flinch. Don't usually want cyanide around my babies. However, I went on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate. Here I read that forms of this compound are used in everything from Krazy Glue to Vet sutures & are approved for human medical use as well. Last thing I could think to worry about would be VOC's (Volatile Organic chemical fumes). Many compounds such as paint are safe to be around, even ingest after they've cured, but give off potentially harmful fumes until then. Some compounds never stop giving off these fumes. I have also found where compounds may be cured to where they're safe for humans but not birds. Their respiratory system is so different. I don't see where there are VOC issues with this product. But sometimes, you really have to hunt & I didn't. Hope this helps. I will be very interested in everyone else's feed back.

Nice job!. I'm jealous. I want a playstand, have no space & a german shephard with a tail. But I still like to look.

This "creation" definitely isn't about looks. It's all about destruction. It might last a couple of days. Whatever survives will be incorporated into the next incarnation. They're all funny looking, but unique & give the birds new stimulus. Toys are constantly changing with little effort or cost. This one doesn't take a lot of cage space, but it's big enough to perch on & long enough to approach from different perches. Coffee filters & cup to shred. Sisal has different knots to untie. It & the popsicle sticks are crunchy. Straws & beads are colors & shapes. The straws move & can be worked loose, become foot toys & easily destroyed. Some also have qtips in them. The spoon & wood shape are for serious destruction. It's also customized to the particular bird's interests. This is for my Eclectus. My Quaker wouldn't like it because there's not enough to beat up & she'd have the knots out in no time. My Grey would be afraid of the florescent colors & size. I can't constantly re-create toys for him because he takes way too long to adjust to anything I hang in the cage. It's often better to just slip something into a paper cup or clean dish for him to find & keep busy. Kura was bouncing when I brought it to the cage. She was on it before I got the link closed. These silly looking "creations" keep everyone at my house busy & happy & save me a fortune.

I've made toys for the fids for a long time. I'm always on the look out & this morning, I lucked out. At Micheal's I found cut wood shapes on clearance for $.29 each. I bought all they had. Right now Charm is trying to un-knot 4" sun shape I tied onto a piece of sisal. The grocery store had hard wood salad utensils for $.75. They had 3 different ones, but they only had 4. Mine. Christmas Tree Shoppe, baby toys, $1 a piece. The baby key rings are a staple, here. Then, the dollar store had cat balls with plastic bells, 6 per card. Phenix destroys them playing hockey on the floor of his cage. But I had no idea how really good I'd done until after I got home & started working on some new toys. I was looking for things to stick into the slots in the wooden salad spoons & thought about the 180 pack of florescent colored straws I'd pick up at the dollar store. Boom! Instant favorite, huge success. Before I'd even gotten the package open, Kura came down & demanded I let her ... ah, help. So far the straws are in toy clusters, are foot toys when the ends are tucked into a ring or triangle & I made some into chains. They don't stand up well, but they sure seem to be a lot of fun. $20 bought an entire afternoon with a room full of very happy fids & plenty left over. Today was my kind of shopping day.

Super huge good on you for this rescue !!!!!!!!!!!! Hope some of this might help transition this poor baby. Mine is very funny about fruits & veggies. Fresh grass & seed heads are a compromise, if you can find untreated ones. Charm changes her mind a lot, too. When it seems like she's more interested in playing with them than eating them, I incorporate them as part of her toys. She enjoys wrestling with anything oversized. She loves to get things out of "treasure" boxes & is very fond of anything she can swing around, bash & destroy. You might also try replacing her water with juice for a couple of hours at a time & offer fruits & veggies that have obvious seeds. Also, she tends to want what everyone else has. She will usually have at least some interest in whatever the other birds are chowing. So, that might help once Sport's out of quarantine. My first rule for bird rescues is don't want too much too soon & add to the problems. Concentrate on what's life threatening first. Second I go for the most achievable goals. Every success improves the bond between you. Quakers are very territorial & cage aggressive. Coming from such a bad place has probably made Sport even more so. They can display very bad tempers. They bite hard & don't let go easily (I have the scars to prove it From my own experiences, I'd suggest that you give him that space, for now. Maybe take him out before you clean his cage or dishes, or work with him. Once he's out of quarantine & moved to his new territory, you might change cages or wash & rearrange everything & move onto cage issues. Hopefully, you'll have earned some trust by then. For the most part, Charm is the busiest, happiest bird in my flock. I think the only sad thing is that she'll never understand that they squeezed a full sized parrot into such a small body. When in doubt, I've learned to always treat her like the big birds. The size of her cage, her toys and her food seems like they'd be too big for such a small bird. But that's how Charm likes it. Good luck with Sport.

I have this one & a larger model & I really like them. I'm using this cage for my Quaker, who is a really busy bird & requires lots of space & things to play with. I really didn't feel like it would be comfortable for my Timneh. He has the model where the living space is 36" L x 22" D x 45" H. They make this style in a few different sizes. I tried to find a website for you, but couldn't find my model. I personally like this style. I like the bar spacing. I think the all horizontal bars are super for arranging perches, etc., better for climbing & for cleaning at the bottom. Everything wipes off these cages really,really well. Mine are consistent bar spacing, very decent quality, sturdy, but lighter weight than the cages I had before. They're also easy to move around. I won a couple of Ebay actions, last year. They were brand new & the smaller one cost $115 & the larger $165, delivered. After 8 months, I would have been happy with my cages at twice the price. I think my fids are happy, too.