Wingy

Drill a hole through, screw down and secure a peg style clothes pin (I used zip ties around the end nub to secure it so it doesn't turn or twist) to a branch or even the side of the cage. They make great holders for things like snap peas, dried vegie slices and millet. It is also a good holder for stringy type toys like beads or wood pieces threaded onto a strip of rawhide.

Jake was a bit nippy at the vets office and she suggested that I say "no bite" in a deep voice. I had to combine that with immediately putting him back in is cage but it did work. You'll just have to use trial and error to see what works for you.

Isabelle is an only so she is used to everyones undivided attention and she is fully flighted. She just isn't here long enough to teach her the rules. I can't seem to get it through her little head that Jakes cage is off limits and not to take food from him. He has been very good and very patient but he needs to be able to call the things on/in his house and what he's eating his own. They are both used to being out when ever their humans are home so it has been a challenge.

Someone had a cage and ordered a special feeding station to go with it. Hopefully someone else can remember the name of it. There is the tidy seed feeding system. I don't use it but did consider getting it.

Jake has been home about a month now and he is just beginning to really play with his toys. Maverick might very well be sitting in his cage during the day. He is still a baby and has much to learn.

LOL. Jake can't be bothered waiting. He'll be naughty while I am sitting less than a foot from him. Miss Isabelle the Quaker is naughty in front of me too. She has been sent into her house because of it. She won't leave poor Jake alone and he needs a break from her antics.

Jake also love straws. I put 1/2 of one through the opening of a peg clothes pin and he is happily chewing away. The second surprise is him loving to push green colored bottles off the table. He can't be bothered with the clear ones but goes for the green. I filled a 20 ounce one with water so he has to work for it. Its funny really. Jake doesn't push the bottle over he pushes it from the bottom so it doesn't tip.

Practice in the car with the Pac o bird. Its not easy getting the seat belt through the back loops without tilting it from side to side.

My son and I have an agreement to bird sit for each other when ever possible.

I used corn starch instead. It helped determine that it was indeed a wing feather on the underside and not cut a on the body. I've gotten up and checked on her a few times tonight. She is resting well and is relaxed.

Thanks Jayd. She lost more blood than I would like. There were a few big drops in her cage, on a towel and maybe 4 or 5 on my shirt plus what landed on her. She is such a tiny thing and doesn't weigh much so any blood loss is frightening. Thank goodness it happened when she wasn't alone.

Its going to take time. He has to learn what is food and what isn't. Keep in mind that parrots are very inefficient eaters. Jake will destroy a raw carrot and maybe eat a few bites. Making mulch out of it is much more fun.

Don't let the clipped wings lure you into a false sense of security. Jake is clipped, the vet said it was a very severe clip, and he can fly quite well.

Eat with him and give him bites off your plate (or a plate he thinks is yours). I was worried about the same things with Jake but he is coming around.

I am birdie sitting DS's Quaker for the next week. Isabelle was here all of 2 hours before she broke a blood feather. I didn't want to get her to excited and make the bleeding worse so a call to her Daddy for help was in order. Thankfully DS was using tonight to get things together and I was able to call him for help. What are the best fresh foods to feed her to give her while her little body builds its blood supply back up?

Nancy honestly Jake can go where he pleases. I just worry about him holding it so long. Winter is coming and there is usually at least 1 good lake effect event that messes up my evening drive home. It isn't unusual for my ride home of 12 miles to take 4 or 5 hours and every few years the roads are closed all together.

I just used hot water but if you need something stronger call your avian vet and get a recommendation.

I bought a Hoover carpet cleaner and that thing is great. It sucks almost all the water up with 3 passes of the suck only mode. That thing has spin brushes and does such a good job all I need is hot water.

Lots of tissues and always wear slippers. Cold or warm stepping in poo in bare feet is not pleasant.

Why not rig up a mister hose above a section of the outdoor aviary. In the wild nature gives our feathered friends rain storms to get them wet whether they like it or not. So make it rain, just don't let them see you turn on the hose.

I don't notice the smells but my partner does. It is in part from the food and part from Pipers feathers. I use giant glass containers to hold the food. I asked a local sandwich shop for the used pickle jars and they willingly gave them to me. I soaked the lids in a solution of baking soda and water for a few days and then put them in the sun for an afternoon. This got rid of the pickle smell. Another great source for large containers is the supermarket bakery. The doughnut fillings and cake icings come in food safe plastic buckets with handles and resealable lids. Not all containers are created equal so be sure you use containers intended for or that contained food. (Buckets from Home Depot are not food safe even though they look the same as the bakery buckets. The plastic is different.)

The great state of New York.

I say take your flock with you to the fabric store and match those colors. There is something quite restful about the colors that nature gives us. Its funny but without meaning to I find my own tastes in decorating mimic what the earth provides. Shades of browns and woods as the base, creamy beige with flecks of color (nicknacks on solid cappuccino colored shelves) for the center and navy, greens or creamy yellow beige covering windows that are set near the ceiling. The only room that doesn't follow this is the kitchen where I have bold and high gloss reds.

The state I am in requires Jake be banded and the band must include the breeder state, breeder mark and an identification number. It can be removed, for medical reasons, by a vet. The vet must report to the state that the band was removed and why. If Jake ever leaves my home he must again be banded and again it must be reported to the state. (I have included provisions for Jake in my will and have noted this as a requirement.) Since the closed band doesn't bother him and isn't causing any discomfort I am choosing to leave it on. I prefer that he keep this closed band instead of possibly needing an open band some time in the future.

That cat. I hate that cat. She STOLE my RED BEAD!!!! Its gone. They tried giving me a different red bead but I am not fooled. I am going to keep biting them until they find my bead.