Powerful Beak

Echo has an amazing beak.  She may lap up her daily gruel with daintiness, but she can also pry open tough nuts with ease. 

Yesterday, she popped a weld on her very strong cage!  Imagine! 
Fortunately, my son is a welder.  Some repairs are now in order. 
If you think a hyacinth macaw is your dream bird, be prepared to get a very strong cage! 

Muffin Lovers

This is Sadiki.  She is visiting and is my best customer when it comes to my Munch Muffins!  She grabs the chunks of muffin and scarfs them up like she has been starved.  She dabbles with the pellets and seed...but it's the muffins that make her one happy girl.  The muffins are a healthy mix of oat and barley flour with flaxseed meal and pumpkin.  Other added ingredients are coconut flour, olive oil, rolled kamut, and shelled pumpkin seeds. 

A Big Blue Baby Girl



Dad says Bye Bye to Echo




Echo Outside On A Sunny Day




Echo Hanging Around Like A Hyacinth


I have a new guest.  She is a much loved hyacinth macaw.  Her name is Echo and she is so sweet. 

She misses her dad and mom but is enjoying the macaw room immensely.  The other macaws are good company for her.  Seems that all hyacinths like to hang "helplessly" to attract attention.  "Help me, I can't get up!"   

Echo only likes to eat mashed food.  So, out came my food processor.  I make her a special meal by pulverizing banana, pumpkin, sweet potato, a scrambled egg, and some coconut milk.  Yum!  She licks it like a lollipop.  I've made her a toy from a fresh coconut cracked in half.  I wonder how long it will last?  Her beak is very powerful.  I even ordered some macadamia nuts (in shell) from a new website that I love.  http://www.nutsite.com/  They have good prices when you buy in bulk.   

Saying Bye Bye I'll Be Back



Aaron Says Goodbye to Simon

 It's always difficult to leave your children with a sitter.  Will he/she miss me?  Will he/she be comfortable and eat well?  After parrots stay here and then return, they look forward to coming!  The initial anxiety is gone because they realize that dad/mom will return.  Some of my clients say that just bringing the carrier out creates excitement.  They practically jump in!

Simon, seen in this photo, sings all the way here.  Then, when dad is getting ready to go, Simon starts saying "Bye Bye" very exuberantly!  I hope that doesn't hurt Aaron's feelings!  All the while that Simon is here, he is in charge of departing guests.  "BYE BYE!" he shouts as each person leaves.  It's quite charming.

Each bird that stays here is experiencing a vacation of his or her own.  They get excellent "catered" food.  They are exposed to other healthy birds and clearly enjoy seeing others like themselves.  They learn to eat and play with toys better because they watch their neighbors!  Also they get the socialization of having other bird-loving humans interact with them as they come through the house.  This is a fun atmosphere with plenty of goofy singing and good food.       

Joshua The Grey

Joshua is a difficult case of a bird.  He was given to me because he was not handlable. He actually was a handfed baby but spent the first 18 months of his life being a companion that wasn't handled.  He kept a woman company in her last months of life when, as soon as he was adopted, she was diagnosed with cancer.  

He was quite cage bound when he first arrived here.  He is an absolutely wonderful companion but is deathly afraid of being asked to "step up". 

He has a quick wit and a vocabulary that makes me laugh daily.  A gentleman named Hermann has come to visit frequently and had the patience and perseverance to win Joshua's trust.  Joshua would nervously remain on Hermann's forearm and even his hand.

I, however, haven't had the time to develop the trust and rapport needed to win Joshua over.  The fact that I towel him to groom him and move him taints my chances.

I enjoy him and he enjoys me, as long as handling isn't involved!
 
Lately, I've wanted Josh to get outside for the sunshine and mistings.  The only way to get him there...is to wrap him up in a towel and transport him like a burrito.
 
Once outdoors, he is a happy parrot.  He thrives in the fresh air and even likes the spray showers!  But the transporting him back and forth is not fun or easy for either of us. 

Alas, Hermann has stopped coming to visit.  He got frustrated that Joshua would regress if he didn't get a visit for a few days.  I know Joshua would make a great companion parrot for someone with the time and patience to build a relationship.  My dilemma is...should I try to find that special person?  Or do I keep Joshua here where he is obviously happy and well cared for? 

Giving up a parrot is the most difficult thing to do.  Each parrot has a personality and a relationship with me.  How would he take to a new home and a new person?  He would undoubtedly be frightened and insecure.  So I guess I just answered my own question.  Joshua will just have to endure the evil towel until he figures out that things would go a lot easier if he would simply comply.  

I love the way Joshua picks up words and phrases in a matter of minutes.  He adds a lot to this house of parrots!  I simply feel guilty that he can't be cuddled.  Hmmm, what grey likes to be cuddled?  Not many!   

Ladders Come In Handy for Non Fliers

Vinnie and Elwood are visiting again!.  They love to have time out of their cage.  Cockatiels are very socialble and would be in large flocks in the wild.  Here, the flock is smaller but they enjoy hanging out together in their own room.  However, I would often take a peek to check on all the cockatiels and find Vin and El on the floor.  (They're not good fliers.)  I set up some ladders to aide them in returning to their cage.  Wherever Elwood is (he's the handsome gray guy on the platform), Vinnie must nearby.  Vinnie is the little bald cinnamon pearl on the ladder.  They've been together many years and they are quite a happy pair!