birdhouse

LOL That a girl!! The home remedies are really often the best cure after all. So how long are they thinking this new wrinkle is going to take to iron out?

...and that's how you learn not to feel guilty about loving the new baby! How could anyone not fall for that little face? Congratulations!! More pictures, please!

Kura took a bit of convincing about healthy destruction in general. When she got here she'd been conditioned to sit & stare all day. So I started teaching her to play. But I didn't realize that an ekkie's beak is no where near as effective as it looks. That big ole thing can't even shell nuts. Eventually I got w/the program & found out that she did love crunchy things though. It started w/rush mats & Chinese Fingers. The first time the neighbors donated a bundle from their arbor I found out how much she loves fresh grape vines. Big favorite! She eventually worked her way from Balsa wood, Popsicle sticks, rattan & reeds all the way up to birch disks. She does not like Pine, though. So all those awesome looking hangers I bought her originally were always doomed to failure had I only known. Eventually her beak started to look all trim & shiny. Before her it never even occurred to me that type of thing counted towards healthy beak conditioning. But apparently it does. So don't give up. Hopefully you can find something that works for Dorian, too.

You poor thing! lol "The lowest-calorie nuts at 160 per ounce are almonds (23 nuts; 6 grams protein, 14 grams fat); cashews (16 to 18 nuts; 5 grams protein, 13 grams fat); and pistachios (49 nuts; 6 grams protein, 13 grams fat). Avoid nuts packaged or roasted in oil; instead, eat them raw or dry roasted, says Caplan. (Roasted nuts may have been heated in hydrogenated or omega-6 unhealthy fats, she adds, or to high temperatures that can destroy their nutrients.)..." "Ounce for ounce, macadamia nuts (10 to 12 nuts; 2 grams protein, 21 grams fat) and pecans (18 to 20 halves; 3 grams protein, 20 grams fat) have the most calories—200 each—along with the lowest amounts of protein and the highest amounts of fats. However, they're still good nuts: The difference between these and the lowest calorie nuts is only 40 calories an ounce..." "While all nuts contain eart-healthy monounsaturated fats, walnuts (14 halves contain 185 calories, 18 grams fat, 4 grams protein) have high amounts of heart-healthy alpha linoleic acid (ALA), a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in plants. Research has suggested that ALA may help heart arrhythmias, and a 2006 Spanish study suggested that walnuts were as effective as olive oil at reducing inflammation and oxidation in the arteries after eating a fatty meal. ..." http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20585485,00.html#best-nuts-for-your-diet-0 But all we really have to go on is human stats. We don't actually know how like humans' the birds' metabolisms really are, though. So, my best guess is that in the wild, there is a season for each food. While a food is abundant, critters pig out on it. Once it goes out of season, obviously, their diets change. Around here, fresh foods rotate w/their seasons w/me creating mini-seasons for staples that are always available. Nuts are good high energy, calcium rich winter food. But, they're also some good foraging when they're fed in their shell. Walnuts are work for a Grey to shell. Not so much for the bigger birds, maybe. But enough for a Grey to work off a decent bit of those excess calories. So if he wants Phenix can have a couple of whole walnuts a day & can binge thru a bag or two w/the rest of us. Assuming he hasn't already lost interest, which he probably will. My only rule is that all binge food is fed later in the day. That way, it's not unbalancing their normal diet. Binge foods also happen to be good bribery for getting fids back to their cages. Many also make a nice bedtime snack as well.

Oh well. Guess we're a little strange around here. We like our wood & we like it thoroughly destructed when we're through. I do mean nothing but match sticks. A roll of adding machine tape lasts these guys forever. Paper & chipboard are at best 5 minutes' tickertape making on an odd afternoon. Paper's really only fun when it's something stolen that I'm going to have to blush & stammer an explaination for when it finally gets wherever it was originally supposed to be going. That one never gets old - well for them anyway.

Well, so, the greedy SOB has effectively killed the goose that laid the golden egg. There's no excuse for bleeding people dry like that! Hope the new team works out well.

It kills me that Phenix once flew miles a day thru the jungle & now he never leaves the ground even when he could. It also kills me that Kura may never have flown in her entire life because her aerodynamics are such & her wing span is so big it's not possible in this house. So watching your flock soar even thru the school gym makes me really happy for them!

Well, since you put it that way ... lol This has always been an international forum & proud of it. Like SterlingSL said, it's all about the birds & that looks like a little sweetie right there. Welcome to you & Jason.

I hope that makes you feel better. Sounds like Sukei is doing well & the people who are watching over him care. Pretty soon this will all be behind you. Give or take any new phrases he may have picked up along the way. lol

Best wishes for peace & prosperity. Happy New Year

Pine cones, needles or boughs from an pine forest in an untreated area would be fine. Cones etc from Michaels are treated w/scent enhancers & likely fumagated. Ditto potpourri and you'd probably not be able to tell everything that's in it. But you could make your own dried potpourris using dried flowers from bird safe plants & arromatic peels & spices. Or like the recipe I gave you to "cook". You can't get into trouble if you consider any aromatics potentially harmful if you didn't make them yourself.

Belated wishes that you & yours all had the very merriest & messiest Christmas ever and a very Happy New Year, too!

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?198316-Night-of-50-candles The last bottle I got was Sweet Orange essencial oil. The label reads: Ingredience : CITRUS SINENSIS L. OIL Country of origin: Canada Sound scary? Didn't think so. It should still be kept out of reach, of course. The issue is being 100% certain of 100% of the ingredients & knowing every one is from a nontoxic plant species in a 100% safe carrier base. Personally, I'd still never even super heat oil, let alone burn w/candle wax. Somethings may be generally considered safe. But it doesn't mean anything for any particular bird. Just like people can't all tolerate the same things. A bird exposed to lung problems can be dead or severely damaged pretty quickly. Just not worth it. You can live w/o any kind of candles scented or otherwise. Although there may be a period of withdrawal (she said from experience lol). And there are safe alternatives that make a room smell good. Dishes of dried orange rind w/cinnamon & clove for instance. Maybe some fresh pine boughs. Tis the season! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?202826-Air-Freshening-Parront-style!

Crap! There just had to be one more jackass. You can't know if you can afford to be cavelier about this, either. Maybe he's just being an officious little toad who's making enough noise to justify his paycheck. Or maybe he thinks he's a by-gosh-do-gooder who could actually put Sukei down. Good thing you belong to the biggest support group of all. This must happen, I don't want to say often, but... Surely now that Sukei's finally state-side, there's a miliary family network that helps returning Vets get the Mr. Toad's of the world to see the light & just leave it alone.

HI, Redfactor. Welcome to GF. Hoping you'll start your own thread & tell us a lot more about you & your handsome new friend. ")

If good thoughts are worth anything... Please do not forget to update us! There are a bunch of people all around the world who want to hear how Sukei greeted you when you landed state-side AND THEN, we will expect periodic updates for the next 8 yrs or more.

Phenix was wild caught, abused & older. Then he was forcibly handled because he was sick while he was still utterly hand-shy. I kind of felt like it was cruel to force him to learn to even tolerate being handled except it really is necessary at times. He has learned that. He will usually let me pick him up. On a bad day he'll at least back down if I drape a towel over my arm but he will bite it. He likes to have his feet rubbed a little. And that believe it or not, was huge progress. I know he will never be a physical bird. I certainly understand why & accept it as much as it's practical to. I also accept his way of communicating his affection is chatting me up & showing off for me. Over the past 10'ish years he also got to where he will lay his beak against my face & kiss me from watching Kura do it. Scary w/a biting bird! But actually less if you truly believe the bird really bites becase he's terrified of hands & are willing to accept the day may come when he proves you wrong. lol Comparing apples to oranges, maybe, Kura, my ekkie was domestically bred & rescued at about a year or so old. She's got an almost unatural bond w/me. More dog-like than bird-like. I can't exactly lay her on her back, but I can do pretty much everything else, including have her stand to cut her nails on a good day. But in a cruel twist of fate, I have to minimize all physical contact w/the bird who loves it most because she's hormonal. As it is, she's laying eggs several times a year even though she barely gets a beak or feet rub occassionally. Contact w/her is mostly limited to letting her sit on me. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to accept that, too.

One step closer to Paradise!!!!!!!!

Tree itself looks fairly simple. Like I said, you guys w/the tools & setup could probably knock it off pretty quickly(ish). It's the docorations that must have taken some real time & patience. Somebody loves their birdies for sure. So after that, I just had to check out the Parrot Workshop, of course. I don't belong to FB & I'd never have found it on my own. And now, thanks to you I know that my fiddies are at best deprived & I am a big fat slacker! Damn!! I didn't come up for air or even blink for half an hour. If it weren't for Xmas, no one would be hearing from me this weekend. But whenever the dust finally settles, I certainly have some dead-of-winter project ideas now!

Yes, because w/everything that's going on in the world, this is the story that most needs debunking, right!?! People....make....me....absolutely....crazy....sometimes. Give me a critter everytime.

Buying a house is big time stress. But won't if feel good to finally have a place where you actually planned to live w/a giant flock of giant birds instead of the way you've been making do? So happy for you guys!

So & I do not want to jinx anything, it's sold, then??

Yeah, but look at all that stuff hanging off the wood! This is not a clothes rack kinda crowd, is it? What was I thinking? lol That looks like something one of the two of you could have sorted by Xmas. Or in the least make a dead-of-winter project. I meant to add this to my last post. I thought over the desk, space permitting might have appeal. Even though all those are contenders for a happy parrot playground, I don't think Dorian's problem is that he hasn't got enough cool parrot stuff because we all know he does. I think he might have gadget envy. Interactive flashes & beeps & other fun stimuli that a chunk of wood just doesn't remotely measure up to. Which is why I thought maybe some toddler toys would hold his interest better & make him think he has something more like what you have. I think he's bonded to you & he wants your attention. I also think he's a parrot so he wants what he can't have. ...unless or until you can find him something "shiny"!

Okay, wait just a second! I know you were joking & at first I chuckled & all. But maybe, just maybe you've hit on something. Dorian's not afraid of new things so much anymore [jealous!], right? So how about he gets his own desk to work on? After Xmas hit up some good clearance sales & find some toddler busy box toys for cheap. Then maybe start a new morning routine beginning w/Dorian prime time, then whatever computer work. Whatever you think whether to put the busy box(s) in his cage or not. You might build an extension for the desk like w/a clothes rack, for instance. I'm sure there would be a lot more involved. But the basic premise(s) here being a- no parrot takes "no" for an answer & we're more likely to wear down than they ever are. b- beat the system, change the rules c- automatic win if he's too busy to care

As adults we turn into __fill__in__your__own__blanks__ . But we start out with enough wonderment & faith* to sustain us even in the face of a hideous death. To me, that deserves more than a few tears of joy & sorrow, both. * Innocent belief at it's most pure & un-corruptible vs in the religious sense.