Wingy

I buy the artichokes that have leaves that are a bit loose and are squat instead of really pointy. I cut 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch off the top, cut most of the bottom stem off, bend it outward just a bit to loosen it moreand stick it on a skewer. Jake seems to like it more hanging than placing it in a bowl. Sometimes I will place in the shell almonds, drinking straws or acrylic foot toys between the leaves. I leave for work very early so I can't make him breakfast but I do give him vegies that aren't going to spoil while I'm gone.

I bought some treat boxes that I poked holes in and stuffed with paper shreds and a treat. I've got pine boxes and buckets full of foot toys that I hide a nut in every now and again, I chop pomegranites in quarters and place a quarter in a bowl on the table or I'll place a whole artichoke with just the top chopped off on the table. Those finger lock tubes we played with as kids can be stuffed with pieces of spray millet and paper shreds. In the toy room someone suggested using the large pasta varieties like jumbo shells or manicotti.

I really like your vets advice on your needing to give Simon more to do when out of his cage. He needs a job or a purpose if you will. Working for food, climbing, exploring and manipulating things will keep him happy and out of mischief.

I finally found some mustard greens. Jake took one bite, started to chew and spit it out shaking his head. He doesn't like the mustard greens at all. Tonights trial was turnip and collard greens which got a luke warm response, he took a few bites of each. Tomorrow he'll get an artichoke to destroy during the day.

The oil filled radiator style space heaters do not have teflon. They are painted so for the first use it is best to wash it well and let it run for an hour or so outside. They do get hot enough to burn so use caution and keep anything flammable away. The bird store that I use just got in some Flukers ceramic heat emitters. I can't tell you how well they work only that I know he is very picky about what he sells.

I am not sure if I ever mentioned that Jake lost a tail feather. It happened a while back. He had a little to much tail in his landing and bent the center most tail feather. It must have bothered him because he ended up pulling it out. For a while now I have been teasing him about having the birdie version of butt cheeks and wondering when another would grow back in and what color it might be when it did (for those of you who don't know Jake is a TAG with beautiful red, red tipped and red streaked feathers not only in the tail area but also around his legs and under his wings). I noticed a few days ago that a feather was getting longer and today I am certain that it is a replacement tail feather. It appears to have the same red characteristics as the others. I'm happy that it isn't a drastically different than the others. I don't know if he would have picked at it if it was totally different than the others.

I only have grown ups to buy for, no littles, so Jake is gonna be a spoiled for his first Christmas. I already have my eye on some Melissa & Doug toys for him, a few movies, a new natural light bulb, and there is a bird fair coming up. <grins>

Don't let her eat hair ties. I read an article about where the "rubber" came from for some of them and it grossed me out so badly I wouldn't wear hair ties for a year. Try drinking straws. Jakes really likes chewing on them. I made a small toy by cutting 4 of them in half and binding the bunch in the center with zip ties I found at the craft store in the kids craft area. Craft stores with a good small childrens area or teachers stores are wonderful places for beads and toys that are more chew safe.

I have an artificial ficus in the corner. I'm going to throw some balls on it and call it good enough.

When Jake gets bitey I say no bite in a deep growly type voice, immediately place him back on his cage top, take 2 steps from the cage and turn my back to him for a few minutes. Jake is young and is clipped so this might or might not work for you.

I have a hand held steamer with the brush and nozzle attachments and I just love it. It really melts away the poops and stuck on stuff without needing to scrub or get everything all wet.

Likely no, possible yes. Take proper precautions of washing your hands before handling your feathered friend, place the carrier on a hard surface that can be cleaned, change your clothing and remove your shoes. Take the carrier to another room to be cleaned. Common sense things you can do every day go a long way toward bringing nasties into your home.

Honestly you don't. You can try redirection like keeping a foot toy handy, or removing them from the situation but setting them up for success is by far what works the best (aka you change for them). I have thick sturdy cotton smocks to wear in the house so Jake can't bite at my clothing, he has direct supervision at all times he is out of his palace, doors are closed to rooms that aren't safe, etc.

There are platforms, ramps and solid cloth hammocks made for guiena pigs and rabbits that might work.

If Bongo enjoys the bang he might like having a hanging bell near something solid (a strip of metal on wood) that he can throw it against. Jake has much more fun whipping his skewer so that it bounces off wood or plastic things then he does destroying food or blocks when I fill it so I leave it empty now.

Yeah for Zak pooping.

Can I come and live at your house? I wanna play in your bay window. That looks so cool.

Give them a call and tell them what your looking for. Most of the time babies are available from late spring through the summer but he might know of a late clutch or you'll have one of the first in the spring. From personal experience his early spring babies were sold before they arrived.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your special moment.

What part of NY are you near? East, Central or West? If you are from the central or western part of the state I highly recommend Birds Unlimited in Webster NY. That is where my buddy Jake is from and he is a real character.

Jake has the same issue with his beak. I make his oatmeal a bit on the thick side and feed it from my fingers holding it a bit low so it doesn't touch his beak.

Rethink the vinyl. It off gasses and is harmful. Perhaps semi (not completely) enclosing the cage your using now in acrylic panels along with using an electric heating element of some kind would be enough to trap the available heat or you could join together several of the acrylic cages that are available to you by removing sides from each to create something larger. There is no ideal solution here only the best of the bad ones and fighting the ambient room temperature is going to be a challenge. Any way you go you'll need to closely monitor the temperature in any enclosure to insure that it is indeed staying warm enough inside and you'll need to make sure that there is sufficient fresh air.

His/her cage won't be warm if the rest of the room is cold. The oil filled heater would be in place of the kerosene heater you have used in the past and warm the entire room. If you are looking to just warm an area for him/her to sit you can try a heated perch or the light as Dave suggested. Some of the heat lamp bulbs are treated with a teflon coating so look for one specifically for parrots. If that is not available to you a heat lamp made for warming small chicken coops should be alright. (Chickens are sensitive to the fumes of teflon coating as well.)

Perhaps calling the vet office will help. There may be an answering service or recording on how to get help when the office is closed.

Thank you for pointing out that I wasn't clear enough. Sometimes my brain works faster than my fingers.