Miles Jenday is having fun!

Miles is a sweet and very loved little Jenday Conure. She is enjoying a birdy vacation of her own while dad is away. It's so fun to watch an only bird as she experiences all the new sights and sounds of this parrot spa.

She gets to hang out on the Atom and watch as I do the parrot chores. Then, when the weather is warm (and the fog has rolled back), she gets to go outside to picnic. My outdoor cage area is netted but I still take the smaller birds like Miles out inside a carrier. Once we're safe and sound inside the cage, I take her out and place her where she can become familiar with the location of the food and water bowls. After all, the cage is 6' x 8' and has loads of perches! Little Miles might spend an hour climbing around before getting down to the business of eating!

George and Courtney Nandays

Here is a very happy couple.

George is quite old and quite handicapped. He is close to 30 years old and cannot close his feet. His lady friend, Courtney, is younger and more agile. When I need to bring George out for cuddling and medications, I put Courtney in the large Exotic Enclosure. She doesn't like it. She wants to be with George!

After the various medications have been administered and George gets some cuddle time, they are reunited. Oh, what a homecoming!

Their cage is specially outfitted for George's disabilities. He has many perches spaced close together so that he can maneuver around. He even has a number of perches that create a ladder to get back up after resting on the bottom of the cage.

Invaded By Talkers!

Full house this week and they are all talking up a storm!

What fun! Jabbers, appropriately named, Wishes, Chloe and Merlin all seem so happy and eager to communicate.

Note the difference between Chloe and Merlin. Chloe is a Timneh Grey (light color beak) and Merlin is a Congo Grey. Merlin's beak is overgrown but the vet has suggested that it can be left alone as long as he is not handicapped with its length.

Regurgitation Sexual?

Lola and Griffin went home...I miss them. They had full flight and freedom in the large bird room that I am developing. These two were a pair. They would call to each other and fly about beautifully. When breakfast was served, Lola would go down and eat a little, drink a little water, and then go find Griffin and feed him! When a parrot regurgitates, it is actually a sexual behavior. Yes, parent birds regurgitate for their young, but mates also regurgitate for each other. It's their way of demonstrating what a good provider they are. If your bird regurgitates for you, it is a sign that your bond is the "wrong type of bond". Lola and Griff have a bond, to be sure. This is okay because they are both tame for their humans. Do they get a bit ornery? Possessive? Territorial? Sure! They're parrots! Watching them and observing their relationship was fascinating.

I don't want to go back!

This is Lola, in the foreground, and Griffin in the background. They are fully flighted and aerobatic fliers. They are used to being out of there cage! Here they are allowed to hang out with the cage completely open and they love it. The Atoms are the perfect junglegym for them. They would take off and swoop and dive but always land back (where they were supposed to be) on the Atoms. Lola is a Gold Capped Conure and Griffin is a Greencheek conure. Getting these two to go into their cage at the end of the day is quite the challenge. They are very tame and sweet but the minute you attempt to move towards their cage....they fly off to do a few more laps around the room. Luckily once you get Griffin corralled, Lola submits to being placed in the cage next to him. What a couple!

Sound the Alarm!

Lulli, the fuzzy Blue and Gold, has been a guest here before. He usually resides with the other macaws to alleviate the macaws calling back and forth to each other. This time, however, Lulli is staying in the living room due to a large population of macaws at the moment. What I have determined is that Lulli is an Alarm Bird! When my son, Paul, is outside filling the bird baths and bird feeders...Lulli sounds the alarm! When Paul is feeding the turtles in the pond outside, Lulli sounds the alarm! The decibel level of a macaw alarm is awesome. Truly, it could be heard throughout the rainforest. However, here in my home, it calls for ear plugs! The funniest thing happened this morning when all this alarm calling was blasting out. Matilda, the whistling grey used some of her people language skills! She called out in a rather disgusted tone, "Gall Darn It!!!" I had to laugh. Lulli quieted down once Paul went to work. Here you can see he loves ripe banana! Matilda went to work at the bottom of her cage banging her bottles. A little later in the day, Claudia came by and got the whole gang dancing! Lulli is a rockin' bird! So was Buster, Chauncey, and Matilda! They love to bop with the songs.

A very busy girl. A very busy Nanny!

Niah, here, has some feather issues. I have instruction to install a variety of various foraging toys that are quite successful with this little girl grey.

She immediately tears into the party shredded paper to get at the nut hidden inside. I am constantly stuffing and restuffing the containers to meet her needs. The toy on the top is a box filled with paper and goodies. The lower toy is a cage like enclosure that holds the shredded paper with nuts. You can use anything shredable like TP Tubes, cardboard boxes, brown paper bags, cupcake papers, etc. and stuff them as we have done here. If you don't want to buy "basket shred" from the party store, you can use your junk mail shredder and make your own. Try to stick with brown bag or natural papers without smooth glossy finishes. Newsprint can be messy (ink wise) but it is considered safe. The problem comes with training your bird to do the work. You may have to start out with a treat showing and even be the one to dig it out with exclamation! "Yea! Look what I found? Yummmm." Once you get your birds hooked on these toys...you'll be a busy person. But, it seems to be working on Niah as her feathers are sneaking back!

Instant Hit Toy

I have made a few toys in my day...the "Worry Beads" were such a favorite with my cockatoo Josey Wales! I had forgotten how treasured they could be. I gave a set of these to Luve and sure enough she was instantly drawn to them. Success! Their smooth texture and bright colors make them fun for tactile birds.

Hanging Playground Okay to Copy!

My parrots love the hanging Atoms and other rope "vines". Now PJ and Artie, Poe and Salsa, and Paco and Winnie have the same amazing playground to romp on.

I love these because they are fun for the birds and easy to clean under. No platform on wheels to move and scrub.

I have some small washable rugs, but one can easily leave the

bare floors uncovered. After playtime, just wipe up the poops and sweep the floor! Or use towels or newspapers. Papers seem to get blown around when the birds flap their wings.

Getting the birds to exercise is important. Also, getting them away from their cage makes them less territorial. This is the theory anyway!

Artificial Rainforest!

Molly, seen here, is enjoying her July 4th! The hose is passed around to each outdoor cage and each parrot is allowed to absorb as much as he or she wants of the "rain". Then they are allowed to dry off in the shade before they come in and the next group goes out. It doesn't take long to dry in this wonderful hot weather!

Simon Playing Hard

Some birds just freeze up when I attempt to capture their antics with a camera. Simon is one of these. He maintains a rather stoic posture until "no one is looking" and then proceeds to wrestle with a toy.

This morning while I was sitting at the table, Simon was having a blast. I snuck this shot of him to bare witness to his activity level. I would have tried a closer shot, but he would have gone into his "who me?" attitude. It's almost like he gets embarrassed. What a great bird. He sings and talks and carries on but never on the record.