murfchck

So every year the Christmas tree gets recreated in our house. If you remember last year I made one on the wall out of garland because all the birds Christmas stockings didn't fit on the mantle anymore. Now with 18 stockings and a cage covering where the pin up tree went last year I was clueless what to do until I found the perfect artificial tree at WalMart. It is maybe 1.5' wide but 12' tall! Fit all 18 stockings and one extra for the homeless, neglected, suffering animals out there! Santa is going to need to bring a ladder to fill them up! https://goo.gl/photos/egBWqmpoTXN3XyX69

Ah cheese, that wonderful cheese. :-) With all my flock, I only have 2 that won't touch it, the others will bend over backwards for just a whiff.

I have 3 greys that talk and one that doesn't. Bongo, who doesn't talk anymore, is the easiest for me to understand. Because he shows me what he wants or acts it out. He is a great sound effect kind of bird and does have a few loud ones like a truck backing up or the ever popular fart, which 2 of them will do whenever someone bends over. Hate to say I would choose the smoke alarm over that one any day! Bongo studies everything also, you will see his little head tip to the side when you talk to him or if you are talking to another bird. One day I fully expect him to just look at me and say "Okay lady, I have been watching you for years now and I think it is time for me to tell you a few things". lol

So last night hubby had an unopened can of beer and was standing by Koko when Koko decided she wanted to make herself a beer bong. (poking a hole in the bottom) She failed at it but did manage to spray herself with it along with half of her cage... That's one way to get a cage cleaned quickly I guess.

Back to normal last night. Yeah, she hates me again and was under foot trying to bite my shoes, sad that that is normal, lol!

Happy hatch day!

Thank you. Cotay is still sleepy but she is eating and drinking. Dripping out of her bum (Watery poop) which I told hubby that if it doesn't stop by today, to the vet she goes.

What a night... Night before last we think Cocaba had a seizure. Walked really wobbly and let Pat pet his back and head so yesterday was dedicated to keeping an eye on him. All seems fine with him now, but for the last week we have been hearing this whine and couldn't figure out if it was Ixta or Cotay who picked up either the dogs whine or maybe even the fan we have that has developed a squeak while it oscillates. However finally last night I saw blood in Cotays poo. She hates me so I can't handle her and called Pat over, he picked her up, all seemed normal and she whined, upon further inspection poor girl had an egg that wouldn't pass. I can only hope this hasn't been going on for a week with her. Pat did some quick reading and felt confident he knew how to help her and he did! He was so excited he helped her that when he was showing her the egg, he dropped it. lol However she isn't bouncing back like normal and slept most of the rest of the evening. Going to keep a close eye on her and make sure there is no infection if this indeed was going on for a week.

I don't even know what nice things are anymore. I see furniture ads and they just don't look right to me. Where are the beak notches? Why do all the legs on the tables made now a day all look the same? It just isn't right! Same with new houses, it seems they like the textured wall all looking the same with the edges of walls squared off, my edges are all rounded, uneven and lumpy. Window sills in new houses too, now that's is just going to far! lol

She does give me signs, I am just giggling to hard. She hops at you and the look on her face, her eyes twinkling with excitement is just cuteness overload. We do tell her no-no but she is still a baby and learning what she can and can't do with that beak. Testing the waters so to speak. Having her since she was just 4 days old, watching her explore and learn is the best part to date. The little steps she makes. I can tap a finger where I want her and she will come right to that spot, ask for a kiss and I get one. Last night we did the toy passing. She had a water bottle top, her favorite toy, I put my hand out and she came over and set it in my hand. I played with it and handed it back. Just watching her learn things is exciting! I was told the most she may say is hello, the blue throats are not big talkers, but I think she will have a few more words. No-no bite and good girl Kaney-poo! lol

So I talked with my friend about Kane attacking me when it is feeding time. She laughed and said "remember when I said they are the hardest to feed? Well that is why, if you are feeding more than one, they attack each other over the food." Great. Yesterday she pulled the fork out of the bowl, tried getting into the bowl and then bit the crap out of me when I tried to move her so I could finish making it. Now I can not even mix the formula while she is on the counter. lol And if I try to move to make it, she follows me.

And now my sweet Kane bites like a viscous pitbull! It is sad though because you know when she is going to attack. She comes toward you hopping up and down, up and down! By the time you stop laughing you can move yourself in time to avoid the bite. Or she will roll on her back and wave her feet at you and if you try to touch them she grabs and bites. Lures you in with that cuteness then BAM! At 5 months she is our hardest biter!

So it is 5:30am. About to get the turkey in the oven and thought about the thread reposted every year on how to make this dinner. Thought I would read it to start this undertaking with a smile. It isn't here. :-( So do I leave the bird tracks in the potatoes? Should I give up rearranging the marshmallows to cover up the missing? What do I do with the yams that are full of beak marks????? There was also something about whine I think, do I whine or, oh wait, maybe it was wine? Wine, that's it! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Which ever you go with just remember: 1) wait until Babs knows how to fly, this is very important to their well being. You never know, she may outlive you and her new owners may have dogs and she wouldn't know how to get away if she never learns in the beginning. 2) even clipped, they can get a gust of wind and be gone. Or be able to climb to a higher branch and catch some wind we can't feel blowing and just drift. I also am a non clipper and sometimes feel like a air traffic controller inside our house. But seeing the fly and knowing they are doing what they were born to do is heart warming. If you are worried about her slipping out the door, take the necessary steps. Add a second door area if you can or hang beaded curtains on the inside that have to be moved to get out. It is a pain for us to walk through day in and day out but hey, we would do anything for our babies! Congrats!

Happy hatchday Sully!

Her story isn't that sad but it does show how our feelings roll on to them. She has a wonderful mommy who to this day keeps in contact. Her mom and dad were divorcing and Koko began to pluck under that stress and now being back in the work field and doing it alone she hoped that maybe a sanctuary with other birds would help her past the stress of it. She thought Koko needed company, more than anything. She made visits and donations for Koko's care while at the sanctuary for 5 years. When Koko was going to have to be moved to Florida, mommy couldn't stand the thought of her being so far away and be adopted out and not know where she would end up. They reached out to me to take her in. Mom continues her support and keeps up with Koko and really loves her dearly. Koko is 25 or maybe 26 by now ( I would have to look in my book, I can't keep up, lol) and I am her second home other than the 5 years at the sanctuary where Greywings looked after her!

That is permanent bald beauty. She gets 2 on her chest but removes them after a while. When they are there it looks like a bathing suit top.

So this isn't a Kane picture (lol) but I just had to share it. Koko has been with us now for a year. Not once in any of that time did I ever notice how huge she is, until I saw this..Look at those feet! https://goo.gl/photos/VWxsnedkg8Xihumm8 And yes, my life is lived at the sink in the kitchen. I am up at 5 am, at about 6:30 I start gathering bowls, 18 food and 18 water and clean them. I get their breakfast ready and feed by 8:00am. I sit with hubby and have a cup of coffee. Clean the kitchen from the debris of breakfast and make it to work by 8:30. I get home at 4:30 from work, gather and wash 18 food bowls, 18 water bowls and 5 stand water bowls. Then I start our dinner, get their dinner started. This is when we have a moment to clean a cage or 2 and play with them. Their dinners are usually ready by 7:30, feed them, check on our dinner, 8:00 I feed Kane and at 8:30 put them to bed. This is the time of night I finally get to sit for a second, and I mean a second. lol. Then I am back up cleaning whatever mess I have made with their dinner and hopefully our dinner is done. It is now about 9-9:30pm. We get to eat! Then it is right back up and cleaning our mess up. Hubby does this part while I get to go outside and reflect on "what the heck can I do to make this easier on everyone". This is our daily routine and I still have not found a better system. lol In bed at 10. (and right now I am in a finger splint. We were moving a few sheets of wire, Pat said push I must have heard pull. Cleaning and drying all of this while not being able to use a finger or get it wet is fun!!!) There is actually so much more I have to get done from the time I get home until I go to bed, but that will be shared in time, it is a surprise!

Haha, that she does. It is funny to already understand her different screams. The "I like", "I don't like". "I love this" or the "this is interesting scream". The one I hear most though is the "this must be killed" scream and the poor ping pong ball is paying the price. Marley (military) just turned 2 in August and she came in with a horrible wing clip. Guess what! I found 4 flight feathers that were trimmed on the bottom of the cage this week. Lord help me, lol. My hubby told me to keep feeding her so she will be too fat to fly, lol. She is in her young terror days also so having 2 this way, you should go ahead and get my padded room built and ready. Yesterday, Vincent was on my shoulder during dinner prep time. Bongo would fly over my head, I thought looking for room on my shoulder. Turns out I shouldn't hold any other bird when I am cooking. He was dive bombing Vincent. Well, except Kane, he lets Kane on my shoulder. Here is how I do dishes now, Kane and Bongo. https://goo.gl/photos/MK9BQmW3FqpXcGP87

After speaking with my friend who is the breeder, I was told that she wouldn't be weaned until 6 months. 4 months is an average for other macaws but after raising 1000's of these guys, they wean at 6 months and her taking 50cc's a day is perfectly fine. My brain is turning to mush!!!! Our decision, which is what I have been doing, give her what she wants when she wants it!!

And 40cc's it is. She was crying and crying. I gave in but think she just missed the one on one attention during that time, not so much the food. lol She actually goes into her cage by herself to eat when she wants to, so I know she isn't starving. But maybe, just maybe I gave in because I missed that "special" time we had when feeding. Hmmm, just a thought.

Fingers crossed, it has been 2 days now since Kane got formula, she acts like she is dying but I know she isn't. She eats pellets and raw sweet potatoes, apples and snap and snow peas (as long as they are on a skewer) Cottage cheese and yogurt are okay with her as long as they let the pellets stick to her beak for eating later. lol No to sprouts and nuts, she won't eat them at all. She will clamp her beak closed as soon as she sees a nut, pretty weird. During the storm yesterday we found a big dog, wrangled him up and called his parents and sat out front waiting for them, by gosh, Kane wanted to know what was going on so she wandered through the house along with our 3 dogs so she could get a better look. This girl is fearless in a bad way. She is not handicapped, she is 100% handi-capable! I am not use to having to lock up a bird so I can get something done but for her own safety, I have to learn to!

Haha, that is too cute!

Almost 4 months old. Says hello now too, well she tries like heck to and hubby and i can hear it. Lol

Been a while, it has been hectic here and there are just not enough hours in the day anymore. As I thought Kane is a big handful. Yesterday morning she got her head stuck in a toy that hangs from the top center of the cage, it was lucky I was still home and had not left for work because she would have died. This was supposed to be a safe toy so we had to check all of the toys the birds have and no matter how safe you may think they seem, there is always that off chance they will figure out a way to make it unsafe. After work, she flew into a window, hard enough to cause several birds to take flight because the loud thud scared them. The window had blinds so even the stickers wouldn't have helped. She was just on a mission to give mom a stroke yesterday. https://goo.gl/photos/PPTUZAWup9c5rjYM7