SunnyBird

Hi, I just took a close up picture of him. He's eating a piece of walnut. See the feathers on his shoulders? (It's also a great tongue shot hee hee) <br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/12/23 20:10

My apologies if this animated short has already been shared, but if you haven't seen it, it's certainly worth seeing! It's called: Pigeon: Impossible Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!

Don't be silly Jayd, your answer was very informative. Please continue to respond, I am learning a lot from you! Karma to you!

Thanks for your concern. All the feathers he has lost have been replaced. He was full of shafts at some point and I was busy scratching his itch! LOL. My african grey went through the same molt at the same age, so I don't think it's unusual. Perhaps it has something to do with the climate? I live in Athens which is warm and has a lot of sunshine mostly. As for being vet checked, no he has not been. I wish I could but there is no such thing as an avian vet in this country. My breeder even shies away from the one or two that are supposedly more experienced with birds since there is no such training in Greece. Too many parrots have been killed here by over-enthusiastic vets who think they know what they are doing and over-medicate. I would love to have my bird micro-chipped but I'm petrified to do it. I intend to contact a private zoo in the area which I heard has a vet who knows about birds. Hopefully I can establish some kind of a rapport with them and they will agree to see my bird at some point. Otherwise my Sunny is fine and eats well, is vigorous (to the point of annoying :-) ) alert and intelligent, spoiled to death, etc. Perhaps this is normal,too, but I don't have any base for comparison. I will also write to the breeder to get his opinion.

Hi, wanted to get your advice (especially from Jay and Maggie and Pat – fellow amazon parronts). I’ve had Sunshine, my 8 month old male yellow crowned amazon for 4 months now. About a month after he came home to me, he started molting his chest, neck, head and leg feathers. Then he stopped to catch is breath, and about a month later started losing the down (what a mess that was – those things stick everywhere LOL). Now he’s starting to lose the larger feathers covering his wings. What’s next – the flight and tail feathers, I presume? Anyhow, the interesting thing is that the small feathers covering his wings on and around his shoulders are turning black, not just around the edges but also some spots in the feathers. Also his tail feathers look pretty shabby. Jay and Maggie, I remember you mentioning that Salsa was also turning black some months ago. She was molting at the time. It’s hard to tell from your pictures – how is she now? I did my usual research and found that this is a loss of pigment and can be due to lack of sunlight and vitamin deficiency. On the other hand, they also say it can be from over petting. Well, I’m a bit guilty of the latter but it doesn’t make sense in this case because I pet him on his shoulders least of all…. Anyhow, there’s not much light in my apartment. I do have a bird lamp above him and I’m going to change the bulb this weekend (they say the UV only lasts about 6 months although the lamp doesn’t burn out). I also bought 2 kinds of vitamins (thank G*d for 24parrot.com – Northern Parrots on line shop in the UK) and I’ve started putting those in his food and water 2 x a week. It will take a couple of months I guess to see if it helps but I was wondering – could it be that it’s just because these are his first feathers and therefore not so durable?? I sure hope his next set will grow in well. All his new feathers so far have been fine. Your experiences and advice will be welcome! Thanks, Renate and Sunshine<br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/12/22 09:44

Sunshine here - Tango is cute but where's my girlfriend Salsa? How is she doing? Got any new photos to hang up in my cage? Hey check out my flight feathers - I'm all blue for Salsa :woohoo: Ooops better get off the computer my human is getting jealous..... bye all!!! :lol:

Yes Jilly, it's a pigeon and they are both eyeballing each other. Sunny had never seen one close up. The balcony door is closed so there's glass between them. I thought it was a really cute moment. I do miss the snow although I see that lots of you have been getting more than your share! I just hope it gets cold enough so that we can light the fireplace on Christmas eve! :lol: Seems like so far the southerly winds are keeping all the cold weather further north in the rest of Europe. I'd like to wish all my old friends here all the best and good health to you and your families for the holidays. And may next year be easier for all of us. I do hope that someday I'll have another grey but in the meantime Sunny makes me smile every day. I'm so glad to be owned by this affectionate self confident clown. Here's another picture of him drying his wings after a light shower. You can really see the colors on him, especially since he's not clipped.

Dear Everyone! Sunshine and I would like to wish all of you a very merry Holiday Season and lots of scritches for the new year!!! {Holidays-00020136} Warm wishes, Renate and Sunshine (YCA 8 months old) <br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/12/21 11:27

I hope that you have an HD video camera! Have a great time.

Thanks for the great pictures and for sharing your day at the aviary. Wish I could go.... I will start harness training sunshine over the next couple of weeks. We had a great weekend in the country and he really liked being outside in a cage. So far so good! I was watching his training video the other day and saw CRAYOLA the scarlet macaw. What a great name and what a beautiful bird!

Fluffy is growing into a beautiful cat. I love that stage when they start to lose the baby face. Here is Selini and Simba. They are now 6 months old.

8 Sep 2009 ... The world's smallest parrot has been filmed in the wild for the first time by a BBC expedition team. http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8236000/8236410.stm Be sure to scroll down and watch the video at the bottom of the page too! (Also go visit my post "My YCA is Home" under this section to see some great pics!)

Hello Harmonica Man! I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading your posts and your personal experiences with Steve and his aviary. Next time you go please give him my regards. Tell him best wishes from Marios and Renate in Athens Greece, and tell him that I haven't forgotten my promise to send him a photo depicting my parrot wearing his harness with a typical Greek landscape or ancient site as a background.... I'm hoping to have my new amazon trained in a month or so and then I'll be able to take him out. Cheers! Renate

It looks really nice. What kind of wood did you use? Also can you take a photo of the whole thing so I can see the entire shape? I'm looking to make one as well. Thanks!

Jooles, thanks a lot for the compliment. This is why I chose getting an amazon over another grey, although I miss my grey, because this breeder was in Greece. Therefore my little amazon is Greek-born and didn't have to go through any bad experiences like shipping and middle-men etc. He's had almost no human contact but the breeder so he came to me with a clean slate. He has no fear reactions and is very curious and friendly. Of course his health is excellent and he eats anything I give him - no bad habits like only wanting to eat sunflower seeds, etc. which is a problem I had with my Alex. That's all they gave him at the pet shop and he got used to it. Also, he's not clipped so he's getting to grow his self-confidence and flying skills as well. In a week or so I will start the harness training. My breeder doesn't let any people or birds onto his farm and so far, through this, he has managed to keep disease out. When he buys a breeder bird, he keeps it quarentined for a year. I do hope he will eventually have some success breeding his greys. I'd still like to get one someday. Cheers, Renate

Hello Everyone! Well I got the DNA results back! My YCA is a boy - yippee! After all that talk about which sex would be better as a companion, a boy ended up choosing me.... So maybe there is something to it? Anyhow I had already named him in the meantime. His name is Sunshine because the color of the green and the florescent glow of the feathers reminds me of the color of the leaves in the forest when the sunlight is shining through them.... He's a real sweetheart and he's growing more affectionate and bolder by the day. I'm sending you some photos I took over the weekend. Sunshine LOVES his spray bath (he's an amazon, after all) and nowadays like to fly at the camera.... he did this twice, once while he was wet... :-) (that's my daughter) and once while on his new jungle gym hanging in the kitchen. See how my cats, Simba and Selini, like to take their naps under the cage after a long hard day of bird watching...LOL (when they are not napping by the balcony on their throne....they are 5 months old now, one month older than Sunshine. They have calmed down quite a bit when it comes to their interest in the bird, but we still have a way to go.... Simba had to have a bath the other night because he decided to investigate our fireplace and be a chimney sweep...... yes it wasn't lit! A big hug to everyone. *** Hello I'm Sunshine! Amazon Acrobat Flying at the camera Wet bird eating an okra Wet bird flying at camera... Selini and Simba on their throne. Selini and Simba pooped after a day of bird watching. Simba the chimney sweep. Chim chiminy chim chiminy chim chim chiree, a sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be...:woohoo: Messy bird face... Until next time, signing off... he says into the mike.... <br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/09/09 09:58

Thanks all of you for your warm congratulations and encouragement! I think I want to name him/her B) Sunshine, because the color of his/her feathers reminds me of the color of leaves in the forest when the sun is shining through them.... I love that color..... and I guess I can call him "Sunny" for short. I know it's a common name for sun conures but that's the best I could think of so far - any suggestions?? I haven't got the DNA test back yet, but I should have the news some time next week. I sent the feathers to Germany, to the lab which my breeder uses. My YCA is 4 months and 1 week old (or 17 weeks) and weighs 350 grams. I've only weighed him/her once so far, so I could be off by a bit. Anyhow, he/she was the biggest of the three I selected from. I have to go now, but I will post more news and photos during the week. I would love to discuss more about their character traits with you guys - I have a lot to learn. They are different from greys! (2 positive things so far - he/she like to bath - yay!!!! and no bites at all so far!!!!)

Hello All! Well, I've been away for a while, but I wanted to make the official announcement about the new addition to our flock. We'll get the DNA test in a week or so. I have an idea for a name but I'm keeping it to myself for a couple more days.... . This is a Yellow Crowned Amazon, hatched in Greece on 18 April 2009. That makes him 4 months old and an Aries. He is very sweet although a bit reserved about being petted. Doesn't mind close body contact though. Not clipped so being extra careful while he learns to control flight and only let him out of the cage when our two 4 month old kittens are locked in another room. They like to watch him as if he's a new TV show. Prefers to step up on a stick rather than the hand. Doesn't feel secure on swings yet. Eating like a pig - any vegetable or fruit he can get his hands on, and his poop changes color accordingly.... The only thing rejected so far was a fresh fig.... wonder why?..... When it's bed time and he gets on his highest branch to roost, he starts to softly whine like a puppy. Started spoon feeding him oatmeal with apple sauce in the evening, thinking it might soothe him. He LOVES it but still whines at bedtime... I tried to give him a stuffed animal tonight for company but it didn't impress him. Any ideas? Cheers! Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/08/26 23:20<br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/08/26 23:21

Beautiful. It's always amazing to see such powerful creatures being so gentle. Thanks for sharing.

All's well that ends well. Maybe you could put one of those bead curtains inside the front door? (Although your reflexes seemed to work really well!)

Watch out with the temporary name syndrome! I didn't know what to name my previous cat either, I kept calling her Munchkin - well, it stuck. A big fat siamese cat named Munchkin? Oh well.... Now with Selini (Moon) we chose it and liked it immediately. But for Simba the white male, he's giant sized and the breeder had named him Hercules, but my husband changed it to Snowball. That sounded much to Wussy for us so my daughter and I came up with Simba cause he reminded us of a lion - strong and brave, but lately the only lion traits he's exhibiting is lying around all day while Selini dances circles around him LOL!

My dear, I'm sorry to say but the way things are going all of us will be affected sooner or later. Here in Greece they are predicting that by the end of the year, one in three of us are going to come down with it. Just a matter of time... My friend's daughter works at the airport and she was just diagnosed. So much tourism here and so many students going back and forth to/fm the USA. She was told to stay home and her parents were also given some medication for preventative measure... It's not a killer, just eat well and take care of yourself! Your immune system will fight it off if it is in good shape. Karma to you for helping your neighbor.

I had a long talk with the breeder this morning about this. My vacation days were finalized yesterday and I will be back sooner so I asked him when the yellow crowned amazon female would be fully weaned. He told me in a week or so, which is way too soon for me. He said if I chose one of the younger ones three weeks from now I will be better off. He said that the younger bird will bond more readily (one that's just been weaned) and that is the main thing. He admitted that a male amazon may be tougher to deal with when the hormones kick in, but that having raised over 500 of them over the last 20 years he can safely say that the males prefer women and vice versa. He said that he can tell which are male and which are female simply by the way they behave towards him! He said that if I (and my daughter)am going to be the main caretaker (which is true)that it will make a big difference in the end (when it comes to being bitten LOL!) In any case, I will see which bird wants to come home with me, in the end.... P.S. check out my new kitty pics in the cat owners topic... <br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/07/15 14:49

I'm very glad for you all. I love happy endings.

OK my kitties have grown a bit more - it's been almost a month. Simba will be 4 months old next Monday, and Selini is 11 days behind him... Here's a picture of them sleeping in our trailer... And 2 days ago they decided that our bathtub is their playpen. I keep finding them in there. I think they like the fact that it's slippery and love to slide, especially Selini who's loves action! Here's a little video clip.... Cheers!