allie

Thank you for the reminder! These nuts came from the bird store, so they're unseasoned. But we also get him stuff from the grocery store, and I might not think to look for added salt.

A few weeks ago we bought a metal play box ( Description on our bird store's website ) I thought the price was pretty hefty, especially since you could probably make one yourself. But we don't have a lot of time or interest in DIY, so we sprung for it. After all, it'll last forever, and it costs about the same price as a dinner for two at a nice restaurant. If we can eat out, why can't Neko have a lifetime of entertainment? Anyway, I thought I'd post it here Neko LOVES it. He spends all day twisting the wingnuts and checking for treats inside. If you are more handy than we are, you can probably make your bird pretty happy with a metal box like this one. Some of the models in the store had nuts and/or bolts that might come completely free. This would cause the toy parts to drop to the bottom of the cage. Which, ick. So if you buy or make one of these, be sure to watch out for parts that can come free.

We've only given Mr. Neko nuts out of their shells. A big favorite is pine nuts! Jer had a good idea to teach him how nuts in the shell work. We got him some pistachios so that he can see what he's going for, and 'escalated' to peanuts, which require some more engineering but have a soft shell. Eventually we're thinking he can upgrade to some harder-shelled nuts so that he can get a little more foraging into his treat time. I'm also trying to teach him the 'found a peanut' song Do y'all have other recommendations on favorite nuts and snacks for the thinking bird?

It probably goes without saying, but perch placement is important. We got a concrete perch for his talons but we put it in kind of an awkward place in the cage. It was hard to get to and it was lower than his other perches - so Neko mostly just pooped on it. A few months ago we cleaned it and moved it to the same level as his rope perch. Now he makes the rounds, visiting his toys and making use of each of the perch styles. Neko had a cracked beak since I met him nearly 4 years ago. It had broken off naturally and regrew with a ridge. I think this is pretty normal, if a little unsightly. Well, since the perch move, Neko has used the concrete perch to groom his beak to a beautiful polished shine. It's darker, smoother, and the ridge is almost completely gone!

I've seen information about home maintenance and decorating materials harming your birds. Is there a definitive list of things you can do, and things you absolutely must not do? Is it safe to remove wallpaper and re-hang wallpaper? Is it EVER ok to paint? Drywall repair? (which of course leads to painting, but in itself...?) What about tiling and grout work? We live in an 800SQF condo. So while we can move Neko to another room, we can't create a lot of distance. We'll move him out someday when we tackle "big" projects like redoing the floors or changing and repainting the walls. But we're too scared to tackle smaller projects and repairs, so I'd like to know what's safe. Thanks in advance! Allie

That's fair advice. I have no good way of letting him out when my husband is away, so I try to do what I can to bond with him while I work through my own fears. I'm trying to get a handle on when he's feeling threatened or feisty. I can leave him alone, or just talk/dance/play games with him from a safe distance rather than getting all up in his grill.

My husband got Neko from a good local breeder, but they'e since gone out of business. He can't seem to find any paperwork either, so we're left to guess at his approximate age. How can we fix this? Is it possible to find out from some registry or something based on his tag?

We noticed an affinity for the TV remote and the Playstation controller. He preferred these over his expensive wood-and-leather-and-screws toy. Now we've given him a watertight map box from kayaking. It clasps shut which is an interesting challenge, and it's on a string (Knots!). Plus, it's black and plastic like our remotes and controllers. I'm happy we found a free stand-in for our expensive electronics!

We were at a PetSmart for cat food and litter. My husband saw me looking at bird toys and told me we wouldn't be buying any bird toys there. He's concerned about overall care issues like this, and doesn't like the fact that the toys are located so close to cages stuffed full of birds of mysterious origin. I don't think it's a bad place, but he's right to be overly-cautious. The following weekend, we had a spending spree at a specialty parrot store in town. Neko has all the toys he needs now, and I like supporting stores that are part of the local avian community

I have a 13 year old "street urchin" cat, Miette. She has had to fend for herself (AKA she has probably killed birds for food). She was about 6 months old when I found her, but shortly after I brought her home she spawned 6 babies (talk about kittens having kittens!). I gave them all away except for Oedepuss ("Eddie"). Now they're both middle-aged. I was worried about bringing Neko into a small home full of predators. As it turns out, Eddie doesn't understand what Neko is, but he doesn't want anything to do with the bird. Miette, on the other hand, has been attempting to understand whether she should fear him or consider eating him. A large bird like an eagle or a hawk might swoop down and get her, but a sparrow makes a nice snack. A grey? Somewhere in the middle. Naturally, we encourage any fear or discomfort she might feel around him. We hold her up to his cage and when she meows and sasses, he mocks her beautifully. He also says, "Hi Meitte!" whenever she complains. It seems pretty cruel, but it feels like a necessary evil. Recently, she seems more comfortable around him. Sometimes I catch her looking at him with what I interpret as "predator eyes." We don't have any real means of keeping them physically separated, which means we must maintain a watchful eye, push the cat away when she's too close, and never leave the room when he's vulnerable. Still, you always fear the worst. What do you all do to discourage predatory ways and/or encourage a healthy respect for your feathered friends?

Neko likes to have his beak stroked, and when you approach his cage he'll often poke it through the bars so you can give him some affection. But sometimes he lunges at you first, clanging his beak on the bars. I might interpret this as "get away", except that his next maneuver is to put his beak through and patiently wait for some lovin'. At first, I would react to this with a disapproving "Ooh!" growl. But then he began mocking me. He'd lunge, issue the same growl, and then wait for his pets. What a turd! Now I just walk away silently and don't give him the affection he's looking for. This seems to be working better, and he doesn't do it as often. My real question is, what is the meaning of this attack lunge? What does he hope to gain from this? Perhaps he did it early on when he was genuinely fearful, but now he just does it because I rewarded him with a funny sound? This is definitely not what I need! Do you think he might actually bite if he could, or is this just an amusing prank?

I recently got a Haan portable handheld steamer for about $50. I haven't used it on the cage yet but it does a pretty good job at breaking down the poop elsewhere. It cleans and sterilizes, and uses nothing but water.

Neko knew "want a treat?" when I met him. But I thought it would be better if he could assert his own preferences, so we started naming things we gave him. "Want a pine nut?" "Want a carrot?" But once he learned the word for apples, that's all he has to say. "Want an apple? want an apple?" I'm not sure whether this is because he truly loves apples above all other things, or if he just liked the word better.

Neko makes those associations too! Whenever a phone rings or he sees a phone, he starts saying, "Hello? OK. Ok. Buh Bye!". He also started doing this whenever he sees someone using the phone on TV. Smart and funny birds!

I admit I felt pretty self-consious about posting my introduction. I felt like I was publicly announcing that we neglected our bird and now I can't give him the attention he deserves. Thank you for reminding me that it's really not so bad! My husband thinks that Neko likes and trusts me as much as himself. He plays a peek-a-boo game where you hide him behind a pillow or something and he says, "Where'd Neko go?", and then reappear and say "There he is!". We were surprised when he started using "Where'd Allie go?" and "There she is!" instead! When I left for a few weeks in January, I'm told that he asked for me relentlessly and very seriously. How validating is that?! I know I'll get there, but I wish the "it takes work" part of all this wasn't at such a basic level of interaction.