Inspiration!

I'm WAY behind at work today, but had to post this: it is inspirational AND cute:


Cai's New Tricks.


ENJOY!

Nothing says "I love you" like PVC!

My husband, Scott, and I are recent converts to birds from fish. Last year, we had to sell our house due to economic conditions. It was time anyways: our non-feathered flock (six children) were grown and mostly gone (youngest is 18 and at college most of the year, 2 are married, one grand daughter, etc.). Anyways, we used to have a six-foot salt water reef tank (sigh) and loved it with our whole hearts. We had to downsize the tank (to a 30g nano with two of our favorite fish and frags of our favorite corals) when we downsized our home, and we now are in a rental town home, which mean we'll probably move again in the near future. SO, all this added up to getting out of serious fish keeping.

Enter a rescue cockatiel from my daughter's roommate, and deep thinking on whether THIS was the bird for me. Fast forward to deciding that if I was going to get into birds, I was going to get the one I really wanted. This led to falling in love with caiques. Now, I'm waiting for my baby to grow up (and getting to the point, I promise).

While we were fish keepers, there was a LOT of plumbing to master. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what my wonderful hubby, Scott, learned about PVC as we kept fish:

First, the tank side (note that all pics can be expanded if you want to see more by clicking on them):



Now, a few shots of SOME of the plumbing that went behind that gorgeousness:





Etc. You get the idea. Lots of PVC plumbing.

So then, we switch to birds. Eyeing my new cage, I discern two things, a space beside it and a space above it. Then I notice something else: a stub going UP on the playtop of the cage (only we assembled ours on the right, not the left).



In the good old fish-keeping days, Scott once took the entire day (it was Valentine's Day) to re-plumb or improve our fish setup. I always felt so GLAD and loved.

Well, recently, buried in deadlines for work and unable to go on our weekly date at all, I batted my eyes at him and said, "Could you build me a play station extension that would go up and over to the right of the cage for Pippin?" Well, it was our date night. So, he disassembled the stub, took it to Home Depot, and (after making one false step by bringing home oaken dowels, which were then changed out for birch ones) created these fantastic results:



Details of construction:

The PVC T-fittings are slip 3/4" to T 1/2" threaded. Then a half-inch dowel screws snugly into place and really holds weight. You put small 3/4" PVC pipe between each T fixture, and so you can always change the direction of the dowels, and hang toys in different places, etc. Below are some close-ups.



The biggest challenge was the cage stub. Scott found a metal plumbing part that was actually a hexagonal bore to a 3/4" thread. He then found a PVC connector that was 3/4" threaded to slip.



Finally, the gym is topped with a 3/4" slip to 1/2" threaded elbow:



And now to hang more toys!



My study room: fish and feathers together... our remaining tank and our waiting cage in process of being stocked. (Sorry, don't know what happened to the light in the room. All pic's were taken together... anyways, this is the view from my recliner, where I do most of my work:

Buddy left today

I am so GLAD Father answered my exact prayer in giving Buddy a new home. I prayed for a family where there would be a 10-year-old child (I pictured a girl) who would love him and learn from him. Sure enough, after I put up my ad, I got ten responses right away. Four of those were from one person: Tammy, who has five small birds (one cockatiel) herself and wanted this one for her granddaughter to call her very own. The girl visits her every weekend.

So, it was a bit sad to say "goodbye" to Buddy, but I'm so grateful that he'll have a home with other birds, an experienced bird keeper, and a granddaughter to love on him.

Choosing my boy

I got to FINALLY go to DJ Feathers and visit the clutch on which I had a first-pick deposit. Here's a little history so you can appreciate why I'm happy. I had originally wanted a boy (because of egg-laying issues in the future), and put down my deposit almost a month ago when the babies had just been mounted on the website. They were barely feathered: so little! Below was the picture of my boy the day before I put down that first deposit and got a glimpse of him.



The DNA tests were due back soon, but I thought for sure I'd have at least two boys to choose from when my time came.

SO, I was intrigued when the DNA tests for the clutch came back: three sisters and one brother! I thought, "Cool! The Lord has helped me to choose!" But then... of course... I second guessed... and wondered. Meanwhile, I could NOT get down to DJ! Work, family commitments, and friends all HAD to take preference (which I don't regret) but Dave wrote to say that the birds were getting really big and interactive. I hated to miss a moment, and felt that I'd be able to tell which one was mine by now if only I could get down to DJ Feathers and see the clutch.

Well, I got to go today. :::big smile::: Tammy looked up the band number of the one boy while I looked at all four birds together in their cage. She took them all out and put them into a rubber tub. Then fished the boy out and gave him to me. He was fine... but I still wanted to make SURE that he was my FIRST pick. It was an added bonus to meet Christine, from the ciaque forum, as I sat down on the couch. She encouraged me with how beautiful ALL the birds in this clutch were. I felt I could hardly make a mistake after that! They really WERE all beautiful.

So, I put him back into the tub with his sisters and sat back to observe all four birds. I wanted to see if any of them would jump towards me, or seek to interact; none did, really. After about ten minutes, I picked the one that I liked best, and walked away to interact away from the other three birds. I interacted with him for about a half and hour. Well, long story short, when I asked Tammy to check the band of the bird I liked the best, it turned out to be the one boy!!!v And we got along really well. So! Unless something unforeseen happens, I'm going to be bringing Pippin home near the end of April.

Here are some pictures of my beautiful boy today (isn't it an amazing difference in just a month?):

Are you my birdie? We're checking each other out.




Hi there... want a scritch? (feeling very tentative...)



After looking at them all for awhile, I decide.. I want that one...



My boy, Pippin!



He got on my shoulder and stayed there for about 3/4 hour...




Pippin also spent time on my head, hand, and then back to the shoulder.




After awhile, he even took a nap there.




I felt VERY happy and peaceful by the time we left after spending about 2 hours with Pippin. I'm thankful that Father made my choice so clear.

Onward!

Scott and I have prayed it through, and we have reinstated our plans to go forward with welcoming a baby caique to the family. We are also talking of keeping Buddy.

Buddy has become a study for me. Scott has pointed out that Buddy was not raised as a baby with good, loving owners who hand-fed him and nurtured him. He's fearful of human hands and even though there are now those around him who would pamper him, they find it hard to even get him to take a treat from their hands. He sleeks down because he thinks that we mean him harm when he sees us coming. There is no confident expectation of good.

I am the same. I sleek down when I think of the future. I imagine that the Lord will bring me hard toil and pain when I see things that seem scary things looming in the distance. I look for discipline and hard knocks, even though for years I have been blessed and pampered. Scott reminds me that I can become a child who can expect good things, because we know Who is taming us to His hand.

Ave, Savior! Let me look for treats from Your hand!

A step back

Today I gave up my claim on the clutch at DJ Feathers. I want to make sure that my passion for the creatures that my Lord and Savior gave me for my pleasure don't outweigh my pleasure in him. I know that I am convicted that I should be spending far more time with God than I do surfing the 'net to learn about either breeze or bubble friends. This is not the case currently.

So, for now, unless and until I can see a rekindling of my passion for God Himself, His people, and His purposes in the earth, His creatures will have to wait for my loving attentions. Ave, Domino!

Dreaming of Pippin's daily schedule...

I'm doing a TON of online and book research, and learning SO much. Based on what I've learned about parrot behavior in the wild, I'm planning on a starting schedule for Pippin when he comes home.

My bird is one of four who hatched in the DJ Feathers aviary in VA. My deposit gives me first pick of the clutch. I *think* I want a male so as to never have to deal with the possibility of egg binding. This is the one male in the clutch, at 6.5 weeks old:



I don't think I'll ever become a Caique breeder: my goal is one forever friend. I chose the Caique after a bunch of research because I wanted a very energetic yet small parrot who would bond strongly with me. I am an author who works from home, so I can devote a LOT of attention to my birdie. However, I need to be careful to socialize him to my grown kids (who come in and out) and grandkids, and my husband (who also manages our small business from home). If we do get a male, his name will be Pippin (because we have a LOTR theme in our household) and my husband (who may get an African Gray, if all goes well with Pippin) will then name his bird Gandalf, the Gray.

Given all this, my plan is to have the bird sleep in his cage upstairs in our study, which adjoins our bedroom and is quiet by 6 PM each night, as the sun sets. Going by the theories read in Parrot Problem Solver by Barbara Heidenreich, I'm hoping to develop a regular daily routine. I plan, for instance, to bring Pippin into my shower daily (or however often he wants) and watch me do my morning grooming (how will he react to a blow dryer?), and then take him down to his "foraging station" in my dining room while I make and eat my cold breakfast nearby. Then, there are several places for us to sit while he plays on a moveable playstand. Back to the cage mid-day for a deep nap or alone time play so that I can always be free to go elsewhere and do errands, etc. (I plan to work elsewhere in the house during these mid-day hours even if I am home just to get him used to this routine.) We have a deck and a large old cage that I plan to put on our deck, since Pippin won't come home until late April, and we can enjoy many hours out there (since it's wonderfully shady) playing and dozing in the sun and soaking up all that wonderful vitamin D. In the evening, my husband will be ready for Pippin play time, and foraging will again be on his play station. Then, bedtime at sunset or so, upstairs, away from TV and visitors.

I know (btw) that all these are only goals, and that Pippin will be far from perfect and will be stubborn and have his own ideas. These are just goals (gotta have them in parenting, right?). I am enamored of the idea of a free-flighted bird, but think that a caique is too small and too curious for flight. Therefore, I'm trying to plan a variety of play stations that will be good places for him to enjoy out-of-cage time safely.

About Diva (or is it Buddy?)

I mentioned in my introduction that it was a little rescued cockatiel that got me thinking about birds again after lo these many years. At first, I thought this cockatiel was a she (so we named her Diva because she was a bit stand-offish and demanding, but sang beautifully). However, as you'll read below, my new-found friends on the Bird Lovers' forums convinced me that Diva was a he-va. SO! Diva became Buddy. Eventually, I decided that if I was going to devote myself to a feathered friend for the next 20 to 30 years, I wanted to start fresh. So, last Thursday, I determined that I would re-home Buddy and buy a Caique as my forever friend.

Below, in memory of Diva/Buddy are excerpts of my diary that I started on Bird Lovers Online to record Diva/Buddy's time with us.

Diva was rescued from neglect by my daughter's college roommate (who first neglected and then, upon mid-year graduation, abandoned her) on January 30, 2009. She had just spent five days in a box of sorts with her friend (fellow cockatiel) and my daughter had caught her and clipped her wings so that I could have an easier time taming her. She was looking pretty bedraggled when she arrived, but not neurotically frantic. She and her friend were pretty calm, and settled down pretty fast after we got her (large, cheap) cage put together. (I want to get a better cage, but this one was free.)

Diva's friend departed via Craig's List to a good home the next day. She's been alone in her cage since.

We immediately bought pellets for Diva, and vitamins (liquid). Though I have read that liquid vitamins aren't the best because they break down quickly and might foul the water, yet I felt she an needed immediate boost to her immune system, etc.

I also put into the cage (the next day) broccoli and apple. She didn't touch those for about four or five days. Then, she pecked at them once or twice. Two days ago, she began to tear them to shreds in a systematic fashion. Today, she was eating much of the broccoli as she tore it apart. She also went down to the bottom of her cage to consume large pieces that had fallen there. Same with the apple. She takes big bites, moves them around on her tongue, and then drops large chunks to the ground. (I hope she's getting some of it into her! )

I am an author, so I am home all day working. I've been sitting by her cage almost daily for about 10 hours a day. I talk to her and mostly leave her alone except to feed her. I have been discouraged at her slowness in *liking* me. We have left the main cage door open and she's been crawling around the outside of it frequently. She's taken short flights, but never to us purposefully--except once. A few days ago I was writing nearby her on my laptop, sitting on the floor and not paying attention to her at all, when she suddenly flew to the laptop monitor, perching on it and looking straight at me. I didn't move; she flew back to her cage after less than 30 seconds. Still, it was encouraging!

A day or two before that, again with me sitting on the floor, she worked her way over to me via a trail of sunflower seeds (I'm trading on her addiction to seeds as I train her). She eventually plucked about three seeds from my hand that day.

However, those moments have not added up to real trust yet. When I get really close to her cage and talk to her, she trembles, puffs out, or preens. She's clearly uncomfortable.

One mistake that I made about three days ago was to come up and shut her cage door while she was crawling around on it, and then force her to step up on my hand. She really did not recover from that invasion for about two days. Only yesterday did she freely come out again, and that, I think was partly because I hung a favorite toy on the OUTSIDE of her cage where she had to come out to get it.

So, my prayer is that she will REALLY come to like me soon. That's what I'm wanting: a real companion bird who sits with me by choice and cuddles. I'm hoping that her early neglect hasn't ruined her for life. My plan is to give her a couple of months serious effort, and then evaluate our relationship. If she never bonds with me, I'll probably re-home her with someone she can like.

___________

Today, I removed all seeds from Diva's feed cup for the first three hours of her day. She had a nutribar (seeds with pellets and fruit and veggies) to gnaw on (which she did) broccoli (promptly shredded and consumed) and an apple wedge, as well as vitamins in her water (which I do twice a week). I also had seeds scattered on the floor near a perching spot for her.

She flew to my monitor THREE times this morning! I was thrilled. The first time, she stayed about 30 seconds. The second, she stayed longer, relaxed, and pecked at the lock mechanism. The third, she sat even longer and looked more relaxed. I offered her seeds in my hand, and she looked hard at them, but then flew back to her cage. Later, she flew to the floor and came up to examine the side of the computer. She seemed very relaxed on that trip.

Also, about 10:30, she really began calling in shrill tones. I let her calm down, and she did a wing display. I praised her (Oh! So beautiful!) and then put some seeds into her feed cup. She's contentedly munching now.

_______________

My next questions are going to be about bathing and toenail clipping.

Since Diva's not stepping up yet and I can't get her away from her cage, I've been putting a 9" square glass baking pan in the floor of her cage. She hasn't touched it in six days (I change the water daily), tho I know she's seen it. What to do? Mist her? Wait for her to be tamer and then we can shower together? She IS dirty from the time in the box; 'specially her tail feathers. Yuck. I'd just love to get her cleaner; I'll bet she's never had a bath in her life. Ideas?

Also, her toenails are LONG. Do we humans clip them, or do aspects of care like rough perches or their own grooming practices take care of this? (I know about not clipping veins in animal toenails; just wondering if/when I need to do this for her.)

____________________

So, for the last two days, Diva has flown into the adjoining bedroom (we have a study and a bedroom adjoining). Her cage is in the study; tho her wings ARE clipped, she can still fly. Anyways, she flew into my bedroom, which is good 'cause her cage isn't right there.

I can get her to readily step up, but I can't pet her at all. She pins her eyes, hisses and bites with one finger anywhere near her head. She will sit on my hand for quite awhile, but she's not comfy there... constantly looking around and wanting to see other birds, etc.

I am truly wondering if she's going to warm up to me or not. I'm going to do my best for a few months, but I'm not totally sure that this is the friend that I'm hoping for.

______________________

Well, time for a new update. Diva takes two steps forward and one step back, it seems. Sometimes, like yesterday, she is playful and comes very near me as I work on the floor near her cage. Other times, she's fretful and stand-offish, like today. I guess we all have our cranky days, though, huh?

On Friday last I bought her a new play gym.































She has yet to do more than peck one seed out of the OLD dish that I also put onto it to entice her. I have noticed that she never touches anything new for at least 48 hours.

I have ceased letting her fly into the other room where she is "dependent on me" and gets up on my hand. I've decided that she feels threatened during those sessions, rather than taming. On good days, when I sit on the floor and work near her cage, she will come down, walk around on the floor, peck a bit at my pants and computer, and eat some seeds. She'll make several such rounds during an 8-hour day. (I'm an author who sits for hours near her, since she's in my work room.) I really think that I'm building trust by NOT extending my hand, but letting her get more and more comfortable with coming out, exploring slowly, and finding that getting near me doesn't mean uncomfortable interactions.

And today I ordered a new cage that I've had my eye on at Ebay. I bought the cage because, after about two weeks of research, I've decided I don't ever want a big parrot. I'll be getting a parotlet or conure at the biggest. The cage I bought was a large one for Diva, and so I feel confident that whatever bird I end up with will be comfy in this cage. Here's a picture:






















(After getting this cage, I decided to buy Pippin, my Caique, and rehome Buddy when Pippin is ready to come home, in late April. Therefore, Buddy will never use this new cage.)

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On the forum, someone responded to the above post: "Lovely cage and play stand (love the little food cup too). I just watched the video, too cute! Most hens just coo, and your birdie is repeating the same thing, if it starts talking, you have a male. My 'tiels will bow and open their wings like that when I mist them with water from the spray bottle. It really looks like she is trying to bathe from the perch. Those are the motions they do in a bath bowl as well, dipping thier chest in and standing up straight again and repeating the process over and over until they are soaked. Then they shake like a dog and preen until they are dry."

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That was how I found out that Diva was Buddy. Sigh. More excerpts follow:

About sex: yikes! A male??? Diva has several calls, and I've been doing the girl-whistle, you know like guys do to a good looking girl? She's (he's???) starting to imitate it. Wow! How DO we teach them to talk. I do see bars across her tail feathers on the undersides, which makes me think she's a hen. Hmmm. She often displays her wings and sings like in the video. Next time she does it, I'll peek under and see if I see dots.

Uh oh.

I just read this on Cockatiel Cottage: "Body and courtship behavior provide other clues to help determine gender. Males will pull their wings back to form the shape of a heart when whistling. Males also tap on cage bars, food dishes, toys and other surfaces to attract the attention of a mate."

Diva does all these things a lot. I think Diva is a him... Wow. David would be good, but it's my son's name. Rats! I loved the name Diva. Hmmm. Something new to think on though!

So, hmm. Molting. How old are they when they get "adult" colors? I think Diva is about 10 months old, from what my daughter tells me of her (his!) history. She says that when her roommate first brought the birds home, they were "not fully fledged." I suppose they COULD have been molting then, but I'm thinking that my daughter would know the difference. So if he (sigh) is nine or ten months old or so... when should the molt be?

_____________

So, I woke up and tried a few names on him. Today, he will be "Buddy." That's a name of faith because I want him to be my buddy. Also, it works to say "Buddy-boy." This day has started REALLY well. Buddy often flies first thing in the morning. This day he flew to my husband's desk. My husband had him step up, which he did nicely. He sat on my husband's hand but was nervous. Then I slowly came over and got him on my hand. Buddy was visibly more relaxed. He let me take him for a walk into the other room. We stepped up (ladder exercise) for a few minutes, looked around, and then began to walk back into his cage room in my study. He then flew gently and gracefully to his cage. A GOOD experience all 'round. VERY encouraging!

______________

Later that day, Buddy flew into my bedroom again. I took the play gym in there and had quite a long session with him. It started well, but I prolonged it too long, and he got tired and nippy. I should have quit while I was ahead.

______________

It was at this point that we decided to go onto a date to DJ Feathers... and the rest is (well) it belongs to a future (and shorter) post!

Welcome!

I love animals (almost all of them) but have allergies to dogs and cats. Therefore, I keep fish and birds. I've had both over the years, and loved both. Most recently a move mandated a shut-down of my 175-gallon (very sad) so at present, we have only a Red Seas Max nano reef tank running. In the bird department, we've had parakeets and cockatiels over the years, but the recent introduction of a rescued cockatiel (concurrent with the advent of the last year of an all-encompassing four-year writing project) has turned my thoughts to parrots.

I am the mother of six grown children, and since our early marriage, I have wanted a parrot. Now, with my youngest a freshman in college, I feel that I have both the time and the space to mother a young bird and do it justice. Elsewhere, you can read about the discovery of my new feathered friend-to-be, a black-headed caique. As I've been researching about parrots, I find that there are many helpful websites and books (I've devoured three books in as many days on our current 4-day vacation), but the thing most lacking in all these is a definite "how to" on several key points. The same was true when I began keeping fish. If it had not been for my local fish club (WAMAS) I never would have learned enough to plumb and maintain the large, gorgeous environment that we had the pleasure to enjoy for a season.

So, besides keeping this blog for my own records and amusement, I am offering my entries as information that, by trial and error, can hopefully be useful to other novices as they start to enjoy keeping either the creatures that ride on the breeze, or those that live among the bubbles.