birdhouse

Rakuten translation link didn't work for some reason. But there is a portal for Japan. You never know what they're going to have for sale or at what price. Good or bad. So may be worth Googling your way in so to speak. Also good to remember that any painted cage should specify that it's safe for birds. The powder coating is specially formulated to eliminate the heavy metals & VOCs in normal paint because they're hazardous for birds. I don't think they use this same paint for any other cages. I did have a very nice chrome plated cage. One of my favs. But I can't say if all chrome plating is bird safe or not. Also, travel cages for dogs have a grill on the floor of the cage which has a large grid pattern under it. So I would worry that would allow a fid to chew apart the tray & escape or possibly injure himself trying. A bird's travel cage has the tray under a grate to keep that from happening. However, most tend to have spring hooks. My little problem child picks these apart quite easily. So that's why I got the King's cage to travel & have a real cage as a temp cage for him.

Oh absolutely. Toys are the best part of some trips. The cage I showed wasn't actually billed as a collapsible cage. It is just a design that conveniently knocks down "flat" whenever I take it apart. There's the roof, floor grate & base. Then, the sides fold together. So I can keep it in the closet. When it's not being used, it's not taking up space. I do have to use quick links to secure things. But it's still much less vulnerable than my wire collapsible travel cages. Especially for my Grey. But I've long since given up on him. He's got a King's travel cage which even he can't get out of. And believe me, he's tried! So, idk about this because of the translated pages. But does any of this help? http://global.rakuten.com/en/category/204185/?sm=1&p=6 https://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=parrot+cage&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aparrot+cage https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%80%90%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9A%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%80%91%E3%80%90%E9%B3%A5%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%80%91PrevuePet-%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%91%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8Black-Parrot-Cage-%EF%BC%91%EF%BC%92%EF%BC%95%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF/dp/B00BTA29XQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1493141785&sr=8-4&keywords=parrot+cage

Ewww, ewww, ewwww!! Anything eat snakes & scorpions besides prey birds? Is there a safe natural predator that won't harm the fids, that you can invite to come settle at your place?

No humans were in the room yesterday when Phenix came out with, "Phenix is THE BIRD!!" I think it was a sentence he constructed vs something he's been told, too. No idea what made him say it. I'm still hoping I don't find out the hard way. But in the meantime. we were all in the other room laughing at how just how convinced he sounded.

^^^ That's kind of a shame. Does Dorian come around eventually? Colored toys are only specifically a problem for Phenix if they are safety orange or green *&* translucent. But then everyone knows that's when they're at their most deadly, of course. Otherwise, the default is everything new is bad. The bigger, the badder. Everything new in that set up had been hung outside or lying around his old cage for 2 months though. I dug thru my stash & found everything I thought I might use in the first cage I bought him back at the beginning of February. Since I'd already started w/the new thing drill for that I continued w/the assumption that sometime reasonably soon, there would be a new cage to outfit. So I guess that was one good thing that actually came out of that episode, anyway. I've long been convinced that bird cages are designed by people w/little or no common sense who have never happened to have seen a bird fly by. My cage would be further evidence of this. Your cage on the other hand, sounds quite awesome & incredibly intelligently designed! Would love to see a picture of that! First of all, Phenix does not do pictures. He was so distracted that he actually missed it when I turned the camera on on my reading tablet (hence the poor pic quality btw, sorry). I've tried before & he always catches me. So double extra bonus points there again. He actually spent most of yesterday afternoon on the floor of his cage playing hockey w/a water bottle & testing the new acoustics which seemed to please him very much. It's normally one of his favorite past times. But this is far from normal circumstances. That displays a huge level of comfort so soon after a move by any fid's standards. So I am just gob smacked by Phenix right now. Acappella nailed it, for sure. I never, ever saw this coming & I couldn't be more happy for him!

I don't mind the type of snakes that live here. Small & harmless for the most part. A very small rattlesnake population that knows its place ...away from people. But you guys have some scary snakes. So I can't really say as I blame Pat at all. Hope the prevention works for everybody's sake. Don't the parrots have any problem w/them?

Absolutely nothing went according to plan right to the very last. - Although I will say, unnecessary drama aside, I'm not actually sorry this fell thru. I only thought it was a good choice because of the way it utilized space. I never was too fond of the design. Purely on looks, I think 2nd best is much nicer. My brainstorm about the travel cage aborted when the new door turned out to be ohh maybe 1/2" too narrow to fit the travel cage thru ...of course. On paper, even though it looked tight, the 2 cages could fit together in Phenix little corner. But after the new one was framed up, I found it had a totally crazy design quirk, making it absolutely necessary to break down the old cage on the spot. If I'd known in advance I could have spared myself like an hour of pointless struggling by removing the old one first. But then again, if I'd known in advance, it might just have been a deal breaker. It might still be. idk When it came down to it, I just couldn't bear to let Phenix spend another however many years in a "small" cage. I up-sized him about 25%. Only time will tell if this is the right choice or I'm being a really bad parront. 50/50 odds on that one. But he is a creature who's birthright was literally lord of all he surveyed. I kind of feel like this; I may have accidentally become his warden. But I cannot bring myself to help him voluntarily shrink his own world any more than it already has been. I tried it. I failed. I actually feel like that's a good thing. ' So instead I've declared this (albeit successful seeming) experiment comes to its end. Now it's time for Phenix to be "movin on up!"... http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?203207-Take-2-Much-Better&p=323339#post323339

Yep. Done deal. Phenix has new digs. For some unknown reason, he's acting like this might even be a good thing, too! I think the hardest part of this little saga finally seems to be all but over. For the most part I'm cautiously optimistic & very pleasantly surprised! That first day looked like every other time he's had to move. Only it didn't exactly. He was surely scared. But he seemed more PO'd than normal. In fact, I stuck my fingers thru the bars & let him chase them around w/murderous intent to get him acclimated to the cage initially. He got the full tour that way, in spite of himself. But he still ended up cowering on his food cup by bed time. Just like always. By the end of the 1st full day though, I could have sworn I heard the bell on his new boing...? But I wasn't actually sure until I caught him on it the next morning. I had to be very careful not to let on that I was so excited because that was a very big deal! The 3rd day was the first time I opened the door. He wasn't acting like it would be extremely cruel for him to find out he'd have to be going back eventually. It surprised me when he didn't come off the cage. He just sat on the door checking out the new digs from there for a long while. When it was time, I asked him to go in & he did. Just like that! This is far, far & away, the very best move e..v..e..r!! He still hasn't gone near the top rear of the cage. Pretty sure he's afraid of the wood block ladder. But I do believe he'll overcome even that eventually! Otherwise, he's already like 80% settled in & that's mind blowing! The cage itself was fairly surprising too. It's an A&E CC3232. After Steve got Isaac that giant 42"(?) corner cage, I was thinking this one might be too small. But Phenix is a TAG. So it was my compromise for up-sizing w/out going crazy. It's only about 25% bigger than his last cage. But what a big difference in the available space! One of the quirks is that these cages photograph "small". There's actually plenty of room between every branch & toy even though the pics don't look it. Speaking of quirks, there are 2 ginormous, would-have-been-deal-breakers for me. The floor grill & pan are 1 pc which can only be accessed from the rear. You know, the part up against the wall!! Who does that!?! If a cage isn't rectangular the bottom is a 2 pc design, **accessible from the bloody front of the cage**! It's like an unwritten rule!! This is such a big problem in a confined space like that little corner. Nothing to do but try to live w/it for now. But it could potentially prove to be a fatal flaw in the long run. The other fatal design flaw is that installation of the gym & tray seems to be necessary to its structural integrity. I think the grill is meant to sit under the tray & be held down by the 2 perches being bolted on. I say "I think" because the only use those directions have is fire starter material for the grill. I didn't want to block the light & view w/a tray. Phenix isn't going to tolerate perches overhead like that anyway. Also we'll have an all out war going when everyone starts trying to land on anything that there & tempting them. So I've currently got lots of things to weigh the grill down for the time being. Eventually, I'll find something washer-like (but thicker) to pin the grill in place so Phenix won't be able to push it even if it's not weighted. But here again, what were they thinking???? If it weren't for that, I'd give this cage 8.5/10. It has more room than a standard 23"x32" cage. Not quite as much as a standard 28"x36" cage. But feels tons more spacious inside. There's certainly more than enough room for a little TAG who seems to like a more cozy living arrangement. Also its footprint just works better in the available floor plan. Or would if not for the stupid litter tray. The quality is decent & it survived the trip well. No bad welds or bent bars. The bars are nice & solid. The heavy perches didn't phase them. Nice sized door. Fun to set up. Although I am still working out the feng shui & newspaper placement. ")

Have you tried the Japanese portal for Ebay? Maybe you can find something there that you won't have to have shipped half way round the world. I have this model as one of my temp cages. It started out as a deck cage. Although some parts like the doors do need parrot-proofing it's light weight, but sturdy. Surprisingly good sized. And the best part about it is that it's collapsible. It sets up effortlessly. But its original shipping state was "flat" enough to store quite nicely in 4 big pcs not counting the perches & (optional) stand etc. PS the fid is photoshopped. It's not that big!

I am often surprised that any of the big birds survived back when. Incredible amounts of stupidity. We've had birds in my family for generations. Canaries, budgies, barn yard fowl. But not parrots. When I got my first tiel *at Woolworths* & went looking for information it was pretty obvious how little was written for that type of bird keeper. I feel sorry for most of the companion parrots from back in the day.

Phenix always seemed to make at least one good stride during mating season. Unlike some, he gets super sweet & friendly by any standards, let alone... I always used to push just a leeelte harder then. Maybe Miss G has a similar thing going on & you'll be able to take advantage too. Congratulations on your anniversary. Many more!!

Sounds like you got your fids a few years before I got mine. Maybe 3-5 yrs, I'm having to guess because someone hasn't posted anything in the Welcome & Introduction forum yet... [hint, hint] W/pictures, I might add. Yes Bird Talk was one of the first sources of information available & it was like finding water in the dessert back then. Sadly, people have a hard time believing it ever attempted to be legit once upon a time & that makes me sad.

It's doing it again.

They are named Quakers for that reason. It's more common but not limited to young birds. Usually they do it when they're very happy or excited. I'm glad Olive is taking to the coconut milk. Most birds do. The reason for hand feeding wasn't to make sure she got some. It was to make sure that she only got fresh milk which has not been allowed to sit & develop any microorganisms. She's currently got a weak & vulnerable metabolism, remember. And if anything was to take hold, it would be extremely virulent because she's already on antibiotics. Hand feeding her the coconut milk is a good way to set a limit on disturbing her too. You can interact w/her & check her out while she's feeding & let her go back to resting in between. She should have both food & water available in her cage, though. Like I said, I like to leave a glob of peanut butter. It's extremely easy to eat, won't spoil & is very high energy. Hang the dietary rules otherwise for the duration. Now it's just about getting her up & around again.

First, suggest calling the vet. Explain that you can't come back in & see if they'll give you some advise. The worst that will happen is they'll say "no" & you'll be no worse off than before. Meanwhile, suggest powdered sugar, cornstarch or flour. While they all can help w/clotting, sugar has some antiseptic properties as well. I might try putting it in a turkey baster or eye dropper & see if it was possible to blow it onto the wound & under the wing above... But that's just a thought. Olive could maybe be transferred to a hospital cage. I like plastic cat carriers, but pretty much any small travel cage or aquarium will do. A heating pad goes underneath (the ideal temp is around 85 F for sick birds). Then a layer of towel between it & the cage, another towel on the bottom of the cage, another totally covering everything. Food & water w/in easy reach. Go crazy, make it the good bribery if you have some handy. Bet you've got peanut butter, right? That's my usual go to. Put the cage in a safe, quiet place & let Olive rest. Sleep is sometimes far & away the best remedy of all. As soon as it's feasible, get her some coconut milk. It has the components & electrolytes of blood serum. Syringe or dropper feed her as much she'll take as often as she'll take it. She can probably use the hydration. She can certain have the meat, too, if she's interested. Try not to worry (I know!). But lots of times they're not as fragile as we think. Also, fids can be the very best example of how crap happens. Could this maybe be a toy or branch puncture for instance? I know you want to get to the bottom of this so it doesn't happen again. So cast a wide net here & resist the urge to assign blame to the obvious answer w/o really really good reason. Sending lots of good wishes. Let us know how it goes.

Don't forget if Kya's getting good quality commercial pellets then he's supposed to be getting the recommended daily calcium w/all the rest of his vitamins, minerals, etc. Supposedly. Actually he's probably not, of course since every body is not the same & they don't make any distinctions between male/female, old/young, breed, quality of life,etc. But he'd be getting a bunch. Point being it's a good idea to be cautious of supplements which can be tricky. Too much can be as bad too little sometimes. Generally not the worst idea to run it by the vet before adding supplements to most fid's diets. With the main goal always being toward fresh feeding. Don't give up on Kya no matter how long he takes to come around. Phenix took years & wasted more food than I ever want to actually contemplate. Now he's the best eater around. Maybe if you're very lucky, the new girl will be a good eater & help Kya come around.

I can't imagine. Maybe the one random time just because. But up here, you just do not knock on strangers' doors for oh so many reasons. I could envy you on some levels. Not so much on some others. But if that's what the people want maybe you could give it to them 2 Saturdays a month. Say idk $7 a head. Just spit balling here. lol The school thing would be super fun. I took Kura to college & it was like show & tell for very very tall 8 yo's. And it was so great to be able to introduce birds to people who had never been any kind of up close w/so much as a budgie. I hope you can work something like that out.

Same problem here w/all the scrub oaks. I remember seeing tons of acorns that first fall only to be thoroughly disappointed whenever I eventually found out they were toxic. It took a while of course. Remember, no internet 30 yrs ago. "( So now that you're all in & sort of sorted, I was hoping to find out about that newest addition that was/is in quarantine? Or did I miss something?

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2016/12/10/Worlds-oldest-breeding-albatross-Wisdom-lays-egg-at-age-66/2811481396222/ I saw this article which says this albatross laid a documented egg at 66 yo. Then I googled "albatross lifespan" & it returned 42 yrs. :confused::confused: So, as long as the bird is alive & then some...? lol Just maybe it's actually better if this question doesn't get a clear answer to lull you into a false sense of complacency anyway. The problem is that we're still in the infancy of recorded bird keeping. We are only in the very, very earliest stages of it's Renaissance. Even if we did have an answer, it wouldn't necessarily apply going forward given today's advances. Also, a change in lifestyle can trigger all kinds of changes in physiology either way. Logically, that means hormones which potentially means egg production. Even if a breed might not normally have a mating drive after a given age any given bird might surprise you, too. I personally have reconciled w/the idea that I am no match for Mother Nature. A happy, healthy hen is apt to lay eggs. Really should be laying eggs if you think about it. Give them all the sunlight, calcium, fresh food & exercise possible. Pay special attention to any nesting type behaviors, items or areas. Read everything you can in advance from reputable sources. Make sure you have a vet who is readily available. Don't obsess over it anymore than you would about living w/a flighted bird & you'll all probably live pretty happily ever after. jmho When I read what you wrote, this is what I saw. I'm wondering how much is about the new fid in Kya's territory. It coincidentally showed up during mating season when he could be expected to be running a little hotter. But does that automatically mean he's getting excitable about the new girl? Remember, this is a breed who mates for life. So what are the odds that he hasn't done that somewhere before now? Idk the answer anymore than I expect you do. But what if he's just hormonal & aggressively territorial at this point? He might just be posturing in a manner that has nothing to do with anything except his displeasure at having his world invaded & the hormones might not actually have as much as you'd think to do w/it. Not saying you're wrong at all. I just wanted to put that out there as another possible perspective about what might be going on here. If I've learned one thing in all these years, its that they're inscrutable sometimes. What was so obvious to me in the beginning may not be so much by the end. No one says it's only one thing at a time, either. In this case, I'd be willing to bet a nickel that Kya's behavior is related at least in part by the new fid. But beyond that...

For the past 3 (?) days, every page on GF has been crazy slow to load. Like 15-30 seconds'ish or more. But a page usually display instantly if I hit the stop/refresh button after 5-10 seconds. Is anyone else having that problem? Just now, I went to send a PM & the page displayed a data base error. Then I tried to get to my profile & got it again. Help, please. tuvm

That is a lot of doctors' appointments! Glad it's for "good" reasons. Glad you're all doing pretty well, all things considered. Really glad you checked in.

Well, strictly speaking, yes. But for me at least, it's no effort. In fact, it's a greyt joy because I get to learn so much from other grey owners, people who actually get it. There aren't any of those in my orbit. And there weren't any whenever Phenix & I started on our odyssey. Even though those dark days are decades behind us, I'll never forget what it was like to wish there was someone I could reach out to for help. I would have given anything to have some idea of what the heck I was doing! lol It may have taken 20 yrs. But being able to share w/parronts all over the world still seems like a dream come true. I don't think I'll ever take it for granted.

This might have gotten answered already if you'd posted it in Forum Feed Back ...just for future reference. Penny (Talon) is the admin. But she would be referring you (or not) to the techies. That hands on is not usually her thing. However, whenever these types of questions have come up in the past, the response has been well, idk, a little reserved. idk why. But if you want to pursue this, she'd be the one to start with.

Food for thought: Once upon a time, all companion parrots had their wings clipped. And then someone said, "Let there be flight." People were appalled, of course. Some were afraid. Others felt certain that each escapee & every injury was an absolute sure sign that this was an absolutely horrible idea. Or maybe I should have started with, "A long, long time ago..." Change is hard & w/good reason when it may well have such a high price.

The money is safely back in my account!!! The part that was a gift certificate is now a PayPal credit & the rest is back on my card. WHOOHOO! I called to tell Ebay what happened so they didn't think that PayPal found in the seller's favor even though he got paid. It was an interesting conversation. The rep strongly advised my leaving feedback when I said that it was really meaningless smoke & mirrors. So, I agreed to & got some coaching. She specifically said do not say "I had to file a claim" because Ebay will remove the feedback. Why? I really didn't understand. But FYI everyone. I dutifully got off the phone & logged into Ebay to leave promised feedback. It won't let me leave feedback anymore. Smoke & mirrors. FYI