Janfromboone

Tobie has a spicy smell. Then again his cage is near the kitchen.

Good news. Tobie saw the vet a month ago or so and she pulled the stubs of the broken feathers that he chewed off. There were already two blood feathers growing in and all of the 5 that she pulled have grown back in. They came in all at once just as they did last winter. He still doesn't have a fully feathered wing. All of the new feathers are about three quarters grown and other that a few white lines across the oldest feather the feathers are perfect. They are in better shape than before. I beleive that there was a broken feather and a couple of stubs that were broken at skin level that the vet missed, but the main thing is that Tobie is no longer falling. No more injuries. He doesn't have to stay in the cage so much and I think at this point he could fly enough to avoid injury. He flew from the couch to Frank's chair last night when startled but hasn't spontaneously just taken flight yet. I'm still not letting him play on the playstand until the new feathers are fully grown. I don't know why this spring he began to break off the feathers again, but I feel confident that he will now fly again. I hope it will be long term.

that will be so much fun to watch the birds play on it.

So far so good. Tobie has had these toys in his cage for three weeks now and he beats the heck out of them. They are still in one piece.

I would think that flushing it with saline would be the best idea. Doesn't look broken.

I've wondered too if there was a nutritional reason to chew up the molted feathers.

I don't know if others have thought of this so I thought I share with you how much Tobie is enjoying his new toys from walmarts enfant department. He has a new rattle toy and another one that he can spin this clear cylinder that is full of beads. The one with the spinning bead cylinder also has a toy piano that if you push the keys it plays a tune and the minor cords flash. I also bought him a toy guitar that I mounted on the side of the cage and he can push buttons - one two or three ( they are numbered ) and they are different colors. If he pushes one the voice sais "one" . If you push it twice it sais blue and the third time it plays a tune. The rattles are $4.00 and the guitar was $8.00. He plays endlessly with these new toys. Sometimes he just carries the rattles to the top of the cage to drop them and other times he is pushing buttons and bobbing his head with the music. He figured out before I did that the cylinder would spin.. He does it with his foot. So funny.

I've used both. Tobie used the flight suit the first year. I never could get him to stop chewing the straps. I assume from this that the suit was uncomfortable. The aviator harness he tolerates well once it is on. He doesn't chew at it. I'll admit that I kind of liked not worrying about being pooped on with the flight suit and didn't think it was unhygenic. The poop falls below the feathers and I used a pany liner in it and removed it after use . The flight suit didn't work for Tobie even though he was young when it was introduced because it wasn't comfortable for him to wear.

scared me just reading that

What alot of personality Pepper has

I loved it - can't believe they would share a cookie. Spock and Freddie are enjoying each other too. I think I need a friend for Tobie - or not.

your ice lolly looked great!! Shame on her for not wanting it. Keep trying - maybe she just needed to get used to the way it looked.

Compared to Pretty Bird , I think the ingredients sound more varied in Harrison Diet. Besides corn and oats it includes sunflower seeds (tell me why we avoid sunflower seeds - I hadn't heard that until a recent post commented on by Jayd) barley, soybeans, peanuts, green peas, lentils, Psyllium (whatever that is), alfalfa, spirulina (is that seaweed), sea kelp and other things (why is there clay in this bird food). It's all a mystery to me but I like the idea of no preservatives or artificial flavors and Tobie has been diving in to it. The three table spoons I fed this morning was gone by 11:00 AM and yes there were alot of crumbs in the bottom of the cage and on the floor- no telling how much of it was fed to the dog. I wil just keep his bowl full. Thank you all for your helpful comments.

I've recently changed Tobies diet from Pretty Bird to Harrisons diet. I know you are not supposed to make sudden changes, but that is what happened. I carefully mixed a little Harrison diet into the pretty bird and immediately Tobie began to reject the Pretty Bird diet. He would eat his veggies and fruit and only the Harrison pelleted food. So I read on the bag to see what ingredients were so appealing to him. It was loaded with sunflower seeds and barley and other seeds more than the corn and wheat in the other one. I switched because I knew Harrison diet has no preservatives and no artificial flavors. Also the bag sais to feed 1.5 to 3 tablespoonfuls. Tobie would eat much more than that. I don't really have a question but all this worries me a bit. I guess I want to know that Harrison's diet is a good diet and its O.K. to just let him have that as a pelleted diet. Also 3 tablespoons doesn't seem like enough. I measured it out and I think I've been feeding Tobie more than that of pretty bird and Harrison's.

Amazing that she associated the word Jackdaws with the sound they make. Alfie is quite amazing. They are so quick.

even cockateils live 18-20 years. I wonder if you misunderstood him. I'd be calling him and clearing up what the injection was for and ask him again how long he said your grey would live. Tobie's never had an injection that I know of.

Love that he gets to share a nut butter sandwich with you and got so excited he squealed.

Funny she made the association that if you didn't go for a walk she couldn't go for a walk.

I have always thought of plucking like cigarret smoking. A distructive habit, but one that gives pleasure. Thanks Dave! There is some peace of mind in knowing that a feather plucker is not necessarily unhappy. I felt guilty about Tobie chewing feathers it was my fault. .

Soooo! happy for you that your grey is flying now and doing so well. I've followed your posts a long time and feel so happy for you.

That would be quite a sight to see all of them flying at once. Congratulations on your flighted birds!!

Your ideas sound like good ones. What about either making a plywood room divider or buying one. Put it a few feet infront of your doors if there is room. I'm thinking of the kind that are three or four peices hinged together and put it infront of the glass doors. You and your family would have to go around it to get out, but the bird would have to fly a tight turn around the edge to fly into the glass and probebly would stop trying anyway since he can't see the through the glass anymore. It might only have to be done temporarily.

Great news about Charlie. Those pin feathers look great don't they!

Yes!! Me too.

Oh, they are all so cute!!!