birdhouse

You didn't wisk her away & reinforce Bella's panic. You "talked her down" & reinforced her trust. And you shared some valuable bird skills with the next generation of bird keepers. Very nice. :cool:

Phenix & I just wanted to wish you & Kopi a really good trip to the vet today!

I always keep the grates in my cages. My guys use their whole cage including play on the floor. Phenix & Kura like to play hockey with cat balls. Charm well, there's no knowing what she's going to amuse herself with. LOL I'd just rather keep them out of the mess in the meantime.

Please promise you'll post pics if you teach him to sit on your shoulder.

That looks like a really nice set up. Murphy shouldn't have any reason to complain about cage time from now on!!

I think the second cage is the one that I have for Phenix & we're very happy with it. The door's big enough to stick my body thru to clean. It cleans very nicely. Sets up well. I like that all the bars are horizontal. The open top lets Phenix out without having to maneuver around the open door & the dog can't stick her face inside. She can't get into the poop tray, either. I do have to admit to having a little problem with the metric conversion thing. But I think you've linked the exact same cage.

Some viruses which are transmitted via blood to blood & saliva to blood can be passed between species such as West Nile & Rabies viruses. Bird flu H5N1 is a flu mutation that has recently become an inter-species threat. Given the known rate of flu mutation, more are likely to develop. It is generally accepted that birds won't catch your cold. But there are different bacteria, etc in our saliva that isn't good for them. Since I'm just drippy when I have a cold, I try to stay clear so as not to pass anything on. Then, when one of my guys start sneezing & coughing, I'm sure it's just communication, not contamination.

Phenix boing was in his cage for 6 months before he'd go near it on the floor of the cage to play with the bell. I did the dance of joy when I found him actually sitting on it, well clinging to it a couple of months after that. He loves it now. but it took him about 8 months to get there.

LOL Wait until Murphy adds dialogue. Phenix talks me through, "Move!" ,"No! Stop it!" , "Leave it alone!" He's not generally cage aggressive, but he does not like it when I clean his cage. He's not playing when he chases the rag. btw, I do use the rag rather than spray the cage. I wouldn't want to spray anyone in the eye with it. And I would take the bird out if I were spraying the vinegar & peroxide together.

Soap can leave a film even after all that (... I sound like a commercial ) Wetting the cage all over allows water into the hollow tubes & the welds which will not dry for some time & promotes rusting. Leaving the cage in the sun will oxidize the powder coat & shorten it's lifespan, a lot. Really, that was the long way of saying there's a better way. Vinegar & water. Fine for normal cage cleaning. Don't need to remove the bird, just kind of shove him out of the way. LOL And you don't need to add peroxide unless there's some extra reason for disinfecting. You might find this to be safer, faster & way easier on your cage. Another thing that works well for me is occasional steam cleaning.

Sounds like things with your very adorable little Skip are going in a very good direction! I think flying around will help to empower him & that's very good. It will give him exercise, & that's very good. It will give him a reason to get banana chips & loved up. Oh, yeah, all good!!

I found this thread when I was bumping around today. Things have happened lately that made me appreciate it even more than I might have a week ago. I just really thought there were some very good points here & I really thought it was worth the read.

... so, no pressure, huh? It's awesome to want it, but impossible to achieve it. You'll learn a lot from your mistakes. I think you've got good instincts. I know you've got good intentions & that's a very good combination. Ease into things with him. Don't force the issue, especially unnecessarily. Let him come out on his own, for instance. You can get him a ladder if he's having problems climbing out. Spending time with him doesn't mean always handling him. Hand feed him treats. Hang with him. Do things near him. Talk &/or sing to him from across the room. Find out what makes him want you around. When he lunges at you, he's telling you haven't to earn the right for him to trust you enough to handle him. And he's going to need some extra assurances from you because he's handicapped. Just a couple of days ago, he was a dead bird walking. Don't think he didn't sense that he was in danger. It's going to take time for him to get over that. He's the only one who can tell you how much time it will take.

I think some. But his handicap is probably going to shift the priorities for him. Again, some of the biting is likely about fear. Time & patience & a box of bandaids.

They really are so stunning!! This video has made me really hope to see a white one some day. What a spectacular bird! Thanks for sharing.

He's going to instinctively go as high as he can, especially until he feels comfortable. If he's not having any problems with falling, then there doesn't seem like there's a reason to keep from setting his perches up higher in the cage. Maybe put some cushioning at the bottom until you're sure, though. If he is falling, then it might be a better idea if you got him a long, low cage. You would be able to set the branches high in the cage but that won't be very far off the floor. I had an ancient tiel that started having problems getting around. I didn't have the heart to move him as he'd been in his cage for so long. I thought it would upset him. I got very branchy smaller diameter branches with a whole lot of little ends. I set them all around his big cage so he could climb everywhere using both his feet & beak. He could also find very secure footholds & cradles to roost. That might work well for you. I did leave the bottom open so he could stretch his wings. He'd grab hold of the grate to do his flying exercises. He might also do well with a boing or a ladder. These would also allow him to use his beak to help him get around. It's really great to hear that you've found each other. Congratulations!! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures together.

I was going through my emails this morning & found one from the United States Postal (USPS). The memo line read "usps delivery problem NR40262847" & the address said it was from support@usps.com. Everything looked very legit. Except I hadn't ordered anything :confused: I'm kind of trained to be suspicious about this kind of thing. So instead of opening the email, I went directly to the USPS site & tried to track the number which turned out to be bogus. I did some research & it looks to be a virus that's been going around. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp Many of us buy off the internet & get things shipped. It's a pretty safe bet that we'd be good targets for the nasty little bugger. So, I just thought I'd warn everyone not to download the attachment to any email that looks like this. Better still, just delete the email without opening it.

:cool: Phenix decided to start fishing things out of his tub! I've been randomly moving it around the cage. It eventually ended up on the lowest branch, just off the floor of the cage. When I went to clean his cage last night, I found where he 'd stripped off a couple of the coin holders & demolished a wood shape. He didn't pull things over the edge like I thought he would, of course. Just apparently cut loose whatever interested him. ... and it only took him 4 month to do it!!!

Once Georgia starts to demolish her toys, you'll have left over bits. You may start to get some ideas about how to reconstruct the pieces. I think that's when most of us really started to channel our inner toy maker. Thanks for sharing these pics.

He certainly looks happy! What a lucky guy!

I don't see why Tesla wouldn't take peanut butter off the tip of your finger. He's taking treats from your hand. This would encourage him to get closer for a longer period of time. If it turns out that he won't take the pb from your finger, you can dip it in a piece of apple, carrot, celery etc. for a while & try using your finger again, eventually. Just a note, you might not pull away each time he comes to get the treat. He can interpret that as flinching or teasing. Don't worry about him throwing food out of his dish. That 's pretty natural even once they become good eaters. Your dog is about to get a much more varied & healthful diet which happens to be very helpful with the cleanup! LOL Right now, some flinging is fear of new stuff & some venting temper. It's ok, he's tasting it inspite of himself. Phenix finally started to accept real food when a cherry exploded as he was flinging it across the room. You should have seen the look on his face! Then, he went to the edge of the table & tried to figure out how to take it back! Watch for the foods that don't get flung & be aware of the foods that get chewed into little pieces. In time, he will accept more things & you'll find more ways to encourage it.

This is so-o good to hear! Thanks for keeping us updated. Still keeping you both in our thoughts & prayers.

Some people would have gotten scared off by now, or just fed up. Props to Kate! And really... props to both of you for the way you've handled Murphy. He's been a challenging little guy to raise & I have to applaud all your patience, perseverance & greyt work with him! He's a lucky fid to have you both!

That was my favorite part. He really sounded like he hoped he might be able to talk Kim into some. LOL

Just thought of this... First, when you've said Tesla is not responding to any of the food you've offered, did you mean from your hand? Do you know that he knows what you're offering? Has he had these things in a dish where there are no strings & he can actually taste them? Second thing, how about peanut butter (organic & low every bad thing)? I've not seen many birds pass that up. Also, if he goes for it, he has to stay to eat it off your finger. He can't snatch & zip back to safety.