Alexandrines

[Tycos_mom]

I would but I'm not that crazy about their adoption proceedures they want to be able to stop by unannouced 4 time over the next 2 years. I don't even like it when my kids stop by unanouced never mind someone whos their to decide wheather or not I'm taking good enough care of a bird I adopted. I mean really isn't it obvious that I'm not the kind of person that buys a bird and then neglects it. I love them way to much for that. And what if its the day before their big weekly clean and they decide That its cage is to dirty and take my beautiful baby away from me. I would just die. After all birds can be extreamly messy somtimes. I scrub all their cages once a week and change their papers every second day. to me thats enough. What if its not good enough for them.

I almost forgot to tell you Raja said his first words today he said come on then Everyday when I let him out of his cage thats what I say to him I didn't even realize it until he said it to me. I opened his cage and as clear as can be he said come on then before I could say it to him I laughed so hard and told him how smart he was. gave him big cuddles and pets they really do have the sweetest litte voices.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/09/30 10:20

[zooman]

I hope you dont have the idea that when tiago was molting i left him alone that was def not the case i just couldnt pet him but i held him and talked to him all the time, mine went through a very heavy and his terrible 2's at the same time so those two things i had to adjust to. He 85% back to the way he was but very finicky about touching his tail but betty-boop nailed that one as being soo long it is a defense mechanism.

 

congrats on the first words the alex have amazing clear voices and competes with my grey for sure, just the grey has to intelligence part a bit better

[bettyboop]

I completly understand , I have one also .I handled her when she molted but mine never lets me pet her , very rarely do I get the pleasure....

You know, we know you are a great bird Dad, so no explaining to us ........They are great birds , and if they are handled alot when they babies, they can be real sweethearts.I still think alot of their disposition is from genetics.Unfortunatly , their are no books about them , somebody needs to write a book .Also , I have the female , that explains alot .They are or can be the more difficult bird .

M<br><br>Post edited by: bettyboop, at: 2008/09/30 12:28

[bettyboop]

How exciting !!!!Congratulations Pat , that is so exciting .I remember Zsa Zsa's first words , she said "NO NO NO " I nearly passed out .I was so shocked , she had been on top of my fridge chewing on the rubber molding and I had been telling her no no no several times .She flew over to her playstand and said it . I was so excited ...They are so cute.

 

Oh yeah that would be a bummer if the adoption place just showed up .That is what I don't understand why , do they make it so difficult ? Her is a person who would give her a great home and then they throw in the shock and awe of home visits unannounced .No way , I don't like it when someone , just drops in . No way ....

It was a nice thought.

Mary

[Tycos_mom]

I also know you are a great bird dad I sorry if I said anything to offend you. I'm glad your Alex is just about back to his old self again. My birds don't like their tails touched either I think its a pride thig with them their very protrctive of their awesome tails Its like their sayin thats private property don't touch:LOL

[zooman]

oh no i wasnt offended just wanted to clear it that i didnt abandon him. But thanks for the kind words, i think anyone of us that has one and joins a group like ours and reading some of our comments is enough evidence we love our little guys in your case tycosmom big guys your grey is a heavy one isnt he?

 

Bettyboop i just read the part where you said zsa zsa etas a couple teaspoons a day. Thats good news i really got worried i to feed my birds alot of table food and they insist on it..haha, but the regular pellets i always thought they ate too little but i guess they are normal.

[bettyboop]

LOL...They aren't stupid are they ? They know whats good .I just make sure she eats a lot of veggies ,also she loves fish, chicken and pork but dislikes beef.How about your guys?

M

[Tycos_mom]

Isn't it funny how they all have different tastes Mine won't touch pork but the love chicken and homemade roast beef sliced thin they go absolutly crazy for Tyco won't eat nothing but if I let her Fergie too. my Ring neck isn't to bib on any kind of meat that I have tryed yet but i haven't tryed him on much except chicken because I have'nt been cookink big meals lately. There is only me and my youngest daughter at home now so most of the time I just make us something quick the only real cooking I do is for the birds like their rice and bean mash or thier sweet potatos, carrots and broccoli. stuff that I make for them i just do in the microwave really quick. they have to have all those things like squash and yams mine are fussy they will only eat thet stuff if I cook and mash it so thats what I do. they will only eat a few vegetables raw like corn and sometimes carrots the will eat carrot tops raw and romaine lettece the leafy stuff they are pretty good about eating its just the hard veggies they prefer them cooked and broccoli I can't get Tyco to eat it at all unless I chop it really fine and put it in her scrambled eggs with some red sweet peppers and a little cheese then she will eat it only because she loves her eggs. My birds are very spoiled but what the heck they are worth it. Yes Zooman Tyco is a very big Grey shes probubly one of the biggest I've ever seen and her feathers are very dark almost charcoal colour the tips of her primary flight feathers are almost black. I must say though she is beautiful and her feathers are so healthy looking. I'm very proud of my birds all of their feathers are so so shiny they are the picture of health. and they are very very active. I just wish that Raja's breader didn't butcher Raja's wings so bad that poor bird can't even fly 6 inches. he falls like a rock. He loves to climb on everything and he get on the ropes that hang from the ceiling and if he falls from up there he will kill himself. what a stupid thing todo to a bird. I can't wait til he goes through his first molt just so I don't have to worry so much about him falling.

[zooman]

It is funny how they are like us and have their tastes and how it comes and goes. Tiagos fav treat is sunflower seeds when im working with him for tricks etc. but he loves all veggies basically except for lately hes told me to go eat the green and red peppers myself. I try and get them used to eating it whole and not feed them stuff like raspberries and such while out of their cage my apartment would be plastered all over the walls. I gave them mased potatoes once and it was all over the walls..but as for meat ive only gave them chicken so far, im not a meat eater myself i dont eat pork or beef so they'll have to live without it. They both have a very short liking of it and will only eat very small amount. Ive heard palm oil is good to spread over the food, do you ladies agree? Ive noticed tiagos feather since he finished molting have dulled over the chest area and a bit of his back does your look like that? As for clipping urgh trying to forget that as well, i have to clip and they dont fall like a rock gratefully but i just cant take the risk if them being flighted and with the training and flapping i have them do they certainly get their fitness.

[bettyboop]

I have never used Palm Oil , however I have heard it is good .I sprinkle flax meal on their dry food and use it in my muffin mix that they eat .It has a lot of omega's in it .I think both of my birds feathers look pretty good . I push the veggies , Sammy (CAG) isnt as fond of meat as Zsa Zsa .

 

My birds eat Harrison pellets , I think this is good for their feathers .I like the results , perhaps you could try a different pellet .Just for variety .

M

[Tycos_mom]

I haven't used red palm oil either I can't find it in british columbia anywhere they sell it in alberta but I don't have a credit card so I can't buy it on line I figure I can give my birds all the nutrition they need without it they look beautiful and healthy and if they weren't I'm sure they would show it some way either in their poop of their feather looking dull of something so I'm not going to worry about it as long as they are active and noisy and playful and their poop looks normal and their feather shine like the sun thats good enough for me

[zooman]

I tried the harrisons and followed the direction but they wouldnt eat it at all, i chickened out and gave them back there old food its the hagen lifetime pellets, ive heard its good to feed harrisons and would splurge and buy it but it hurts me if i dont see them eat you know? Was it easy for you to get them eating it? or is that what she ate from the breeder?

 

I know diet is very important with the feathers and both seem very happy etc, im a worry wort about this stuff, i want them to have the perfect feathers and health, i wish i had something aorund here i could compare you know? like a breeder or someone with birds i can see if im doing a good job.

[bettyboop]

No , they would not eat it when I bought it , so that is when I ground it up and put it in my Muffin Birdie mix.I throw nothing away .So , I buy the fine pellet and cook with it .They eat it because they love the Bird Bread and they get about a Tablespoon in each muffin , which isnt much .However they eat a muffin everyday which has veggies , fruit and an egg in the recipe.I have noticed they really like moist food over dry .The flax meal is great , you can sprinkle it on their food .Our first Grey when he came to live with us had plucked all his chest feathers , after eating Flax for about 7 months , all feathers were back .I think as long as you give them an assortment of healthy foods , it's ok .Try giving them some baked fish once a week , my birds love it ,make sure there are no bones.Pasta tossed with light olive oil is one of Sammy's favorites.

Sweet Potatoes , red bell peppers ,carrots .One thing I do is , I try to make their food bowl have alot of colors in it , red , orange dark green etc....If I have food they wont eat , I clean it and freeze then I cook with it....I thought looking at Tiago's pic , he looked very healthy...

M<br><br>Post edited by: bettyboop, at: 2008/10/03 12:43

[zooman]

Thanks for the tips i think im going to try the harrisons fine instead of the coarse because i gte the feeling its just to much work for them to eat it. Zuri eats the pellets now almost whole and peanuts in big pieces where tiago grinds down all his food first. Guess different birds but ill try again its just expensive food but if they'll take it ill buy it. I love squash and the new crop is out now so im going to make some up for all of us.

 

See since i had him clipped the beak looks wayy better but i think hes looking duller ill take a pic this weekend and see what you think. I actually almost bought another grey one was in the local classifieds and it was a congo, i had to quickly go away from the page..haha. I would love more birds but not at the expense of time with mine. I bought a dvd 2 weeks ago and started doing some trick training with my boys its harder than it looks but fun, itll be good for the boring winter months.

[bettyboop]

I try to make their food fun , like for example ....I take peanut butter , cereal that is low in sugar (that contains pumpkin seeds , flax seed, omega oil ) , I buy in the health food dept . at my grocery store and the fine pellets. I mix the peanut butter and cereal , roll in small balls , then roll in the pellets .The leftovers go in the fridge and they love them .

I also use a skewer, safe for birds and load it up with veggies and fruit , they forage off of it all day . You can make my birdie muffins . I take a pkg. of cornbread mix , 1 egg , and 1 cup of applesauce, (no milk,)then I add chopped veggies , rice , nuts , baby food , any kind . If the mix gets to thick just add more applesauce.Then I throw in some pellets , and some bird seed .Cook according to the pkg.directions.They love these thing and they don't even know they are eating all good stuff.They keep in the fridge for over a week or you can freeze them .My birds do not like them cold , so I ususlly pop in the microwave for about 8 seconds .

I also hide food in paper cups , and tie with string , they will work for some time to open and eat the treat inside. Gotta make it fun ,and I do think they get bored with food.

So you moved away from the bird section , what can I say .LOL....I would have also .My birds take it all , sometimes I feel as though , I wish I could tell them go to camp .Love them dearly but they do take alot of time .Glad you are cooking squash , sounds yummy.

M

[bettyboop]

Speaking of Tiagos color being more dull , they sort of have a grey cast on them , sort of powdery looking , is this what you are describing? How does the coloring look outside in natural light ? My birds are under an Avian light , so they are getting alot of light and ZsaZsa looks different outside than inside .

M

[Tycos_mom]

Its funny I do alot of cooking for my birds they reall prefer soft food to hard. If its warm and soft its like comfort food for them. I try to make them a nutritous warm meal everyday sometimes I can't so they have to eat fresh raw veggies on those days. If I can I make sweet potato turnip peas and carots I cook them up and mash the potatos turnip and carrots and them stir in the peas. they love it I also make pasta and put a little tomato sauce and parmasan cheese they really like there pasta. eggs I make them omlettes with red peper broccoli chopped fine and the egg shells ground up fine in there also they love their omlettes sometimes I make french toast for them on multi grain organic bread I add sweet potatos to the egg mixture they really like that. there are so many things to feed your birds. my bird prefer Zupreem fruity pellets the best I don't think it really matters which pellets you feed them as long as the eat som kind that the main thing. your bird looks good and healthy to me when I looked at his picture I don't think you have to worry.

[bettyboop]

Hi Pat , I read one of your post before about french toast, so I made some for Zsa Zsa and Sammy , they loved it .How do you put the sweet potato in the egg mix and make it stick , that even sounds yummy to me .I buy sweet potato french fries and the birds love them .

Sammy says "yum yum " for the fries . He is so silly , but loves that warm cooked food .

Hugs ,

Mary

[zooman]

ill have to try those recipes for sure, they do sound even good to me..i cooked squash and they loved it, went all over the place though it was cute to see their beaks all full of orange squash before they wiped their mouths. I have tried the warm oatmeal a few times but never stuck with them, they ate very little of it, so i stopped. I do give them raw corn now since its in season and bought the harrisons fine pellets zuri has aten a bit of it this time so far.zuri is a very much in the bowl eater like a cat or dog would eat you know and tiago wants to hold his food and eat so its different methods, ever notice they can be either right or left handed, zuri is right handed and tiago is left handed.

[bettyboop]

I gave my birds raw corn for a while , but I gave them cooked corn on the cob and they love it .In fact They seem to prefer everything lightly steamed.

Zsa Zsa eats in the bowl , and only throws out what she dislikes, Sammy throws food everywhere.

I bet they did like the squash , I have bought winter squash before , shredded it with a grater after cooking and sprinkled light seasonings on top , they seem to like that. I like to try different stuff and so far they adapt pretty well .My birds don't care for oatmeal either , however my TAG did , he would eat oatmeal with me every morning .They are cute with all that food all over their beaks .

I think both of my birds eat right handed, I have noticed this but they use the one which is most convinent .

Sammy has taught Zsa Zsa to come to where we are when we are eating , it is such a pain .They will fly over , land on the table and start towards our plates , and they will help themselves.We have even given them their own plates , nope they want ours .So now they are served dinner via cage ..... It is the only way we can enjoy our dinner .What do your birds do at dinner time? OBTW, don't eat the muffins with bird pellets in them , if you make some ...LOL...

Mary

[Tycos_mom]

I know what you mean about dinner time they want whats on your plate what I do is I fill my plate and then take it over to where they are usually on their play top and I fill there plate from my plate that way they know they have the same thing I'm eating it works pretty good. my smaller birds will still come over and sit on my shoulder waiting for a hand out but the bigger ones are ok as long as they know they have what I have.

[Tycos_mom]

Did you know that they are breeding Irn and alexanderines together so that they can get more alexanderine colour mutations. It is said that the second generation of Hybreds are undistiguishable from the original alexanderine exceft for its a different colour here's the link tell me what you think

http://www.irnmutations.com/index.html there is also a photo gallery on this link to her second generation hybrids what do you think about this.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/10/05 23:44

[bettyboop]

I don't have an opinion about this, except I don't understand why someone wants to mess with changing these beautiful birds .

M

[Tycos_mom]

I feel the same way. My breeder had every colour Indian ringneck baby there is just about she had blue lutino albino violet and cinnimon. I like the green ones best thats the colour God chose for them and I for one think the Green one are the prettiest out of all of them. Just my opinion. I just wanted to see what you had to say about what their doing just to get more colour mutation for Alexanderines. I think it sucks big time myself

[judygram]

Tycos_mom wrote:

I feel the same way. I think it sucks big time myself

 

 

Why mess with perfection, I like them just the way they are.