birdhouse

Dogs have always been the easiest rehab for me. I also got way more history about this one than usual which is nice. So far we've faced at least one pretty major issue every day & made excellent progress w/most of them. House breaking was on the list. We'll see, but I think that's mostly fear based w/her. Not a single accident so far. Way longer than her previous record. I'm encouraged & Chloe's empowered every time we come back in & she gets her carrots. lol SO great to have healthy bribery that she is just crazy for!! The vet gave her a mostly clean bill of health. We are going to watch her teeth since she has already had dental work done. I'll see what I can find out when I have time. I don't know that she was a puppy mill dog, though. Even if many don't do things "my" way, all breeders aren't necessarily horrible human beings. There's also paperwork about her doing therapy work w/the second breeder. That's something for happy, healthy, semi-bomb proof dogs. It may be why they thought this dog would succeed. To be fair, she may have if they'd made sure to put her into the right environment. Given what I've seen & the amount of progress we've made in such a short period of time, my gut instinct is that she had a decent start. My guess is that her first private home messed her up badly. Her second home tried, but wasn't able to handle her issues. Rescue just isn't for everyone, as a lot of us know.

I went looking on Craig's List for a travel cage. I ended up bringing home another critter. It happens. Long story short, for 5-6 yrs she was a breeder. A vague paper trail says she started in a kennel in MO. When it broke up, they sold her off to a breeder in MA. That breeder might have gotten a last litter off her, then sold her to some unsuspecting people as a pet. She didn't successfully transition into the real world. So those people apparently sold quite the bill of goods about the perfect Pap to the people I got her from. A week later her most recent owners realized they'd been had, but the other people weren't about to take her back. Couple of months later, she & her kennel cage were back on CL. My search for a cage returned the listing for a person who had experience w/abused dogs & well, here we are. So meet "Chloe" (at least for the moment anyway); a 7-8 yo Papillon w/a bad hair cut. 9-1/2 lbs of pure sweetness & terrified of the world. Of course I want to share all this cuteness w/everyone But I also thought I'd see what experiences members might have w/Papillons. Especially Paps & fids. Chloe met the "Pterodactyls" & fled. Ok, so Kura crashing loudly to the floor of her cage didn't help. Kura got over it. But so far, Chloe has not voluntarily gone near that part of the house again. Also, this morning, I woke up w/her wrapped around my face, shaking so badly I was afraid she'd break something (besides my heart). Apparently, thunder storms are another thing on the list. Now we're trying to watch a football game & let's just say, Chloe's not having the best day. So suggestions for any dogs w/thunder & football issues welcome too. Thanks!

I'm also convinced about the warm, gooey stuff being comfort food. It gave me a big leg up w/Phenix when I was getting his diet on track. But it does seem like oatmeal is the bestest except maybe my w/Quaker. Charm is just too fickle to pick a favorite & stick to it. lol I won't even try to explain this. But something like an ice cream cone is likely to read toy w/Phenix vs food. He's uber-chicken when it comes to new toys. So even though he's a really great eater, he'd fling something like that in a heartbeat unless he saw me eating it & I "let" him mooch. 99 out of 100 times that would work on the first try!

I have to admit to a moment of sublime envy when I read this. If I were ever to start Phenix out w/anything that "exotic", he'd be calling for the Royal Tasters for sure! Which of course translates into it being inhaled by the dogs who certainly wouldn't appreciate the time & effort I took. I've always hated that! So does that mean when you come down to it, it's really all about me? lol The recipe is admittedly a snooze. But it's 2/3rds familiar ingredients & so hopefully, that much less threatening for a start point. When I proposed something "slightly" more exciting, I was thinking more along the lines of adding something like crushed nuts just to make it a little more of an enticement. Although plain, warm oatmeal really is a surprising favorite around here.

I'd have to agree w/Ray, Dee. Given her current level of reconnaissance, I'm guessing she's currently implementing phase 3. Also, when you think about it, that spider could translate as a slightly Mafia style message. Just sayin.

Yep. We all got a perfectly clear picture from those couple of sentences. lol Don't you love it? You'd think we'd learn. It's almost a guarantee that whatever we're excited for them to try is going to get pitched at least in the beginning. Next time (there is going to be a next time, right?) you could try a bit of peanut butter, a couple of drops of anise, some apple sauce or something. But if you were feeling a little more ambitious, you might try w/some (slightly more exciting) derivative of this Pellet and Oatmeal Ice Cream Cones You will need: 1. Your parrot's daily pellets 2. All natural oatmeal (Quaker Oats) 3. Ice Cream Cones (sugar or regular) Cook a half-cup serving of the oatmeal by the package directions. Leave the salt option out of the oatmeal. You want the oatmeal to be more on the sticky side so you can roll it into a ball. Roll the oatmeal ball in some of the pellets your bird eats so that it looks like it has been covered in sprinkles. Then place the rolled ball of oatmeal on to the cone to look like an ice cream cone! You can find regular ice cream cones in different colors to make the snack even more fun! http://www.birdmedicineandsurgery.com/homemadetoys.php

I think it took about 3 yrs for Phenix to give me an avatar pic. He doesn't like to be watch like that, anyway. Part of his issues. But they are prey animals so I think it's just instinct for a lot of fids. Maybe you'll have better luck w/Gracie. But I've been trying to set up the lap top &/or tablet where I might catch Phenix in the act. Unfortunately, so far, all I've caught is him sitting & preening. But I'm hopin!

There are a few parronts on the forums w/40 something yo fids. But considering what people knew about bird keeping back then, that's even more impressive! Phenix was also wild caught. But I'm guessing he came thru one of the smaller quarantine stations & I've never been able to get any useful info from his band. Nice try Dave. But you've got way more Greys than I have.

Very cute!

Phenix has been with me for about 25 yrs. But he as a grown adult w/an unknown past when I got him. So all I can say is that neither of us are spring chickens anymore. (feel better? lol)

Whoops, sorry Dan! I must have been writing my post at the same time & you beat me.

We don't often think about these simple precautions until we have to. And I think most of us just don't even want to think about anything like that ever happening to our fids. But you're so right & thanks very much for reminding us

I'm very curious about this. I read on the ref'd link that this includes a topical analgesic & anti fungal. But I couldn't find any more specifics, although I admittedly didn't really scour the site. Did the actual kit name those?

Hi Sarah. Welcome to GF. There aren't too many of us who know much about hand feeding & weaning. Dave007 would probably be able to give you some helpful info, though. Rather than wait for someone who can help to happen to read your post, you might PM him. To do that you can sign in, click on his member name on the right of any of his posts & click where it says "Private Message" in the drop down box. It would also be a good idea if you contacted the breeder &/or your vet. Sorry I can't be more help. But please let us know how it goes & maybe post some more about you & your baby in the Welcome & Introduction room whenever you get a chance.

In other words, we are all suckers for just about any good animal story. And this certainly qualified. Thanks Dan!

There could be a lot to that, actually. Phenix triggered on the words "step up". Changing what I said to him literally eliminated a conditioned response. Also, when I've had multiple animals, their response to female vs male pronouns is obvious. "Girl", "She", "her" being pretty much ignored by the boys & vice verse. One of my "interesting" theories is that abused animals' names can be like or are actual triggers. Like a dog who cowers every time it's called. Part of it is just legitimate primal fear. But the name was also used in association w/enough negative attention or abuse in the past where it would eventually become attached to the actual word "AnimalsName". As soon as they hear it, they expect bad things to happen. Such smart critters tend to have a very long memory. So I think good treatment eventually reconditions the association, but maybe doesn't eliminate it. So occasionally, they have a seemingly inexplicable response which is actually a knee jerk reaction from old conditioning. If that makes sense. If this theory holds any water, re-assigning gender & renaming a rehab could actually eliminate a very big load of baggage. Every bad trigger conditioning for "Gilbert" is about to just disappear. Then couple it w/all the progress she's been making lately. That's some pretty huge potential when you think about it.

Thanks guys. Love how we all find our own unique ways to do things like this. But basically it sound like hung almost any which way is supposed to be good w/adding machine tape. :confused: I've made it easy to unroll & various degrees of difficult. I've even played w/it with them. So Ok, guess it's just a non-stater here. Gotta appreciate how our fids all have their own unique ways to do things, too, I guess. :cool: Glad to hear Talon's doing better, Penny! Look at all the good sharing this started, though.

I try to remember to rotate a toy or two each time I clean cages. I usually have a stock pile & I don't necessarily wait for a toy to get destroyed. But that way the cage keeps changing & it isn't a big production to do it. How did things go at the vet...? Kura's cage is really great to clean & lay out. I'd recommend it for anyone . My original idea was to cut the rolls. But I didn't have anything like a power saw & it wasn't doable by hand. But necessity is the mother of invention. Fortunately, the cage was big enough to accommodate a full roll & I'm actually glad that it worked out that way. I don't know if it would have had the Wow factor if I'd used pieces. On the other hand, Phenix might have been more willing to give it a try if I'd been able to offer him something less intimidating. QUESTION - How does everyone have their adding machine tape hung? Everyone else seems to be getting a good response to it. All my guys just ignore it.

http://www.health-alternatives.com/legumes-nutrition-chart.html Fresh veggies are usually the first choice. I'd rather use frozen whenever fresh isn't available. But fresh veggies have a season & not all veggies are available frozen. Also, I'll do up large quantities of mash to freeze & it's not good to thaw & refreeze food w/o cooking it in between. So very rarely I'll use a canned veggie. Occasionally I include a kidney, navy etc type bean in a mash just because they are healthy & have a "different" shape & consistency. But it is kind of a production to soak them & cook them well enough to make the skins safe for the fids. So it's my guilty little secret that very rarely, I have taken the lazy way out & thrown a in a can of beans. Draining & rinsing actually removes a surprising percentage of the salt. I also bring them to a quick boil to further reduce the salt & ensure that the skins really are free of the hemaglutin (?) which is found in raw & undercooked beans. I think that's the toxin that puts those types of beans on some of the toxic food lists & the reason most of these legumes can't be use for sprouts. Always a good idea to cross reference at least one toxic food list before feeding legumes or broad beans to the birds, btw. http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/non-toxic-for-birds.html

^^^ yeah, really!! What are you doing posting bread crumbs like this?!? Where's the rest of the story???

Woww! The Gil/Jill/Lulu(?)/Phenix parrallel universe aligns again! Everyone who was "supposed" to know swore he was a female. Since gender neutral references seem well rude for want of better way to put it, I defaulted to female & of course so did Phenix. And for some reason, I've been waiting for you to post this. But it still gave me chills! Well, Congratulations on your new baby girl!!! And don't worry. everyone will catch up w/Gilbert's sex change in about a month or so.

Here's another one. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?200026-Hanging-PVC-Playgym

So long as they're being fed & maintained in any reasonably healthy fashion, they'll weather this right along w/you. And if you'll let them, they'll help you get thru it. Buck up. Things will be better no matter what it looks like right now.

There's chew toys, then there's chew toys & idk if I can explain that. But degree of difficulty might be part of it. Level of interest, too. Something to munch for 10 or 15 minutes once or twice a day vs totally destroy in a day or even one sitting? If nothing else, the level of destruction demands a more rapid toy rotation while she's acting all hormonal & twitchy w/a greatly diminished attention span. We all know parrots. "Too much of everything is just enough". lol I'd think new rolls weigh a couple of pounds at least. Which is kind of the point. She really has to work to roll off a layer until she gets it maybe 3/4 gone. And I move it just enough so that some days she can sit in her perch to shred around the edges & others she has to bat hang from the bars. };-> Fortunately her cage is big enough to accommodate this. But she doesn't have a roll right now. She'd get tired of it if she always had one. It's one of my weapons that I save for 'that time of the year'. lol Luckily I already posted pics & the "hanger" which is actually a swing w/a replaceable perch. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?194975-For-DawL-amp-anyone-interested Which is funny because this is strictly Kura's thing. Phenix isn't the least bit interested. But I'm glad if it makes Dayo happy. Also, a nice bonus with this is there's always paper towels w/in reach to clean the cage.

Hopefully, Talon gets a clean bill of health from the vet, for starters. If nothing else, it should make you feel a little better, I think. You're already apparently giving her a little more attention, which can only help. When Kura starts her heartbreaking seasonal feather destructing, she gets tons of things that basically, she can destroy quickly. She has a couple of "straw bursts" at a time & they're probably replaced at least weekly. She gets smaller toys & toys designed for smaller birds, lots of loofah, telephone books & anything that makes a big mess in a small amount of time. I think her favorite is an industrial sized (literally) roll of those brown paper towels that I hung in her cage. She loves to unroll it all over the place (think puppy w/a roll of toilet paper ) & she can shred that thing for hours. As long as she's happily focused on that type of destruction, she's not at her feathers & it seems to help her, at least. You also said Talon's not bathing much even by her normal standards & Dave's recommending aloe. We all hate to inflict misery by bathing them. But maybe that's just what she needs right now. Maybe the solution is something that simple. Hope so, anyway.