GoDiego

How's Onyx doing, is he any better about being touched?

I second that quote. Somebody I know has birds, one of them is in a terrible state with plucking his feathers. I keep on at her that she really should see a vet to make sure that it's not stemmed from something medical. Unfortunately she cannot do this as she cannot afford the vet bills. It's so sad to see this little bird suffering and nothing being done about it. Although this person is a good person and she really is in financial difficulty, I do wonder why she got a bird in the first place knowing that each week is a struggle to put food on the table. In our household with have a "You never know fund" this is a fund that we pay into every month and is money to cover anything that may crop up out of the ordinary, including vet bills for all of our animals. Every time we bring another animal member into our family we always sit down and make sure that we can provide for them financially as well as looking to see if we have time to look after another member of the family. I don't think people realise the cost involved when any animal needs to be treated for any thing out of the norm at the vets. Even a cat and dog's vet bill can mount up into thousands if they require blood work, x-rays, operations etc. A parrots vet bill will always be much more as the vets are specialists and so charge more to reflect this.

Oh I love these Amazons! I was trying really hard to find one here in Spain before we got Diego but they are not as popular here as the other speices of Amazons. However, we have Diego a Blue Fronted and he is perfect in every way, so no regrets. From what I can gather the Mealy is one of the calmer Amazons, bless him, if he has not been handled much and had to fight for attention over other birds, then even the sweetest of natured parrot will not show their true colours. I'm sure that with the love your giving him, it won't be long before his real personality comes through. Would love to see some photos of him.

That looks fab Dave! This was the sort of size I was hoping for. A friend of mine has some large Eucalyptus trees that she will be cutting back within the week. I've commandeered the branches that come off and my husband and I are going to have a go at it ourselves. When you let the wood dry, was this outside or inside? I've read mixed advice about drying the wood as some people say it can be prone to dirt and bacteria if left outside. Just hope that I can return the Java tree or it will be a very expensive lesson learnt.

I've not tried Diego with the tree so unsure if he likes it or not. Did not want him sitting and pooping on it, if I was going to send it back. I think I was more annoyed about paying for a large tree and pretty sure they have sent me a smaller one. This is why I wanted to see if anyone else had one and what the approx branch sizes were so I could compare. So far I have sent the photos and they have gone very quiet all of a sudden and have had no reply as yet. I will give them a call on Monday to see what they say.

You would be amazed how far a clipped bird can fly if they are spooked especially if the wind is right, maybe look at getting him a harness so he can join you outside without the worry

That sounds like me, I have tiled flooring but have to sweep almost constantly. I find bits of pellets, seeds, and various other foods from Diego everywhere, even in areas he's not been in? Our rugs go away for the summer so it's much easier then having to keep getting the hoover out.

Yes unfortunately they are on the endangered list

Sounds like your father left you an Angel to watch over you! Beautiful story.

First airspace is closed over the UK for volcanic ash, then for vultures, what's next?

I found that disturbing and had to stop the video.

I'm loving Yoshi, he seems such a sweetheart!

I have a Dyson upright and love it. Purchased a cheaper handheld and truly regret it, wish I had also gone with the Dyson

It is amazing, we may find it difficult to read our feathered friends body language, but they are certainly in tune with us! This brings me onto thought of the day number 2 - "If we can tune into the unspoken like our parrots do with us, a mutual and deep bond will surely follow"

Your thought of the day has been proven today Elvenking. I was all worked up this morning due to recieving something that was not what I wanted when ordering online and Diego was really grumpy as well. It was not until about an hour after that I thought about what you said and wondered if this was why Diego was acting all funny. After I chilled out, Diego did as well and we had loads of scratches. Proof that your own personal ambiance definitely rubs off onto your parrot.

Return policies here in Spain are not great and the customer is not well covered. If we returned it because we felt it was not suitable, they deem this as us not liking the product and therefore have to pay for the return delivery plus the delivery to us which was free as the order was over 50 euros. The total amount of delivery will work out nearly the same price as the tree was in the first place. I've contacted the shop and sent photos saying that the dimensions are not what they stated on their forum and that they seem to be more for a small or medium tree. Also when we unwrapped the base it was covered in scratches where it looks like the tree was rested on the base without any bubble wrap in the shop. Hopefully with the base being scratched we can return it as faulty so we do not have to pay for delivery. Just waiting for them to reply to my email, but this is Spain and when you have paid for something replies slow down and it's always "mañana, mañana" I am disappointed, more for Diego more than anything else. I was so excited about having a nice play area for him as he is getting fed up on the metal playgym above his cage. I've tried to make it interesting for him, but you can see he does not like it that much and there is nowhere else really for him to perch on. We're going to have a go at making a natural habitrail style playgym for him. A friend of mine will have some eucolyptus tree branches soon that we can use, so we will have to get all creative with them as I have lost confidence in buying another tree online. Unfortunately the pet shops around here do not seem to stock Java trees.

I ordered from an online parrot shop here in Spain a Large tabletop Java Tree for Diego. I received it this morning and was so excited but when I opened it became very disappointed . It really is not suitable for a parrot Diego's size let alone for a Macaw or Cockatoo which it is advertised for. I'm thinking they have sent me a small tree instead of a large one. The tree has 2 branches but one of the branches Diego cannot use as it's directly under the top one and it's not higher enough for him to perch on. I've been in contact with the online store and have sent photos with measurements to see what they say. My question to everyone is: Does anyone else have a Java Tree? And if yes, what is the diameter of the branches? The branches on this tree only measure 2cm, very small I think for a large parrot. Plus the total height of the tree is only 59cm, on their website it says approx 70. Here are some photos of the top part of the tree and measurements, is it just me or does it seem unsuitable? I just see it as a perch rather than a playstand that he can enjoy playing on. Maybe I was expecting too much :confused:

PRO: Parrots make great topics of conversation. In fact, they can make their own conversation! CON: Birdie heard some bad words and practices them on the Pastor, who has joined you for dinner. PRO: Parrots can actually be affectionate; it’s recommended that you pet them for ½ hour each day. CON: The bird didn’t get his quality time yet and repeatedly shrieks, “Help!” The neighbors dial 911. PRO: As a parrot owner, you have a beautiful exotic pet to show off to your competitive neighbor. CON: The bird has chosen this point in time to begin molting and looks like he got stuck in a blender. PRO: You can control the cleanliness of your parrot. In fact, frequent bathing is recommended. CON: You stick the bird in the shower and he screams death threats at you. The neighbors dial 911. PRO: Most parrots won’t bite hard unless you ignore their “leave me alone” signals. CON: You haven’t heeded the parrot’s signals. He finally nails your finger and yells, “Get it NOW?!” PRO: A parrot will usually quiet down fairly quickly after the cover has been placed on his cage. CON: You cover the cage against his wishes. He shrieks, “Help! Murder!” The neighbors dial 911. PRO: Your parrot can develop very convincing responses to certain triggers. CON: You fall and call for help. The neighbors dial 911. Police refuse to humor that parrot again. PRO: Parrots like bright, shiny toys and can spend hours entertaining themselves without a sound. CON: You’ve begged and BEGGED that parrot to tell you where he put your keys. He’s not talking. PRO: A parrot has the ability to mimic any sound with great clarity. CON: You hear loud machine gun fire. You and your dinner guests hit the floor. The parrot giggles. PRO: Parrots, unlike humans, don’t forget anything. They can replay dialogues verbatim. CON: The new neighbor drops by. Birdie replays your “I don’t like the new neighbor” conversation. PRO: Parrots have a much longer life expectancy than dogs or cats – sometime up to 80 years. CON: The 12-year-old cat’s just keeled over. The bird begins singing, “Another One Bites the Dust”. PRO: Parrots’ antics are often a form of great family entertainment. CON: Every time you sit down, the parrot pretends to be a whoopie cushion. You’re NOT amused.

Here in Spain, it is against the law to purchase or own a bird that is not either closed banded or if the band was to be removed replaced with a microchip. The band here is actually registered to the person who owns them, so a breeder here has to register a change of ownership against the number on the band. The birds history is recorded against this number, i.e. the breeder, the owners and any illnesses. There is a big problem here in Spain, especially in Barcelona of colonies of Quaker parrots that started out in captivity but were let free. They are now a big problem in the city and any birds that are not registered there are talks of them being culled. There is also a lot of smuggled wild caught parrots being sold here in Spain which is another reason for them being strict with the band. Diego's vet recommended the microchip in case Diego was stolen and they removed the band and tried to sell him on again. Again parrot theft here in Spain is a big thing I'm still undecided, I don't know how I feel about it. It comes across as very intrusive.

A bit worrying for me that Diego is constantly being the clown today! LOL

Makes me wonder what they will do with the money they have already received from people if they are not able to make the movie. Give it back? I doubt it.

I'm not sure if it's because Diego is only young or if it will continue when he is older, but he will only eat his food if it's warm. He eats nuts, seeds and fruit cold but vegetables, lentils, beans, rice etc. he will not even consider it if it's served cold or even at room temperature. He takes a nibble, looks at me and drops it then turns his back to me as if to say "are you serious, I'm not eating it like that!" I'll take it away, pop it into the microwave to warm it up slightly and he knows what I'm doing as you can hear him getting all excited with the sound of the microwave. I'll bring it back in and then he eats the lot. I'm not too bothered about warming up his food, but was just wondering if this is normal or if he will slowly start getting used to colder food. My other concern is, that he will not eat vegetables unless they are cooked, is this OK or is he losing a lot of nutrients? I do steam the veggies, to try and retain as much goodness as possible. I'm starting to think I have the only fussy eating Amazon in the world, as most will eat everything and anything. After posting in another thread about Diego tangling his big feet up all the time, danmcq replied Now with being fussy with his food, I'm starting to think Diego is having an identity crisis LOL.

This could have been me writing this! You do not stand alone LOL.

I personally think that wood shavings, even dust free ones should not be used as these can be tempting for onyx to try and eat them out of curiosity. I would stick to paper to line with. The last bit of your message made me laugh, it was like you drifted off somewhere into a wibbly wobbly world of your own LOL. ;D

Great blog babysweet, it's so wonderful to hear how things are going since you have Jakob home. It's going to take a long time but it sounds like you are doing everything you can to gain some confidence with him and you can tell he is very loved in his new home