Jeckle/Hyde day

So, Pippin has become more and more comfortable with being on his back and being lovingly scritched by me as a sort of gentle play/lovin' time. He started by doing it in my lap (on a towel that I keep handy as a poop shield) and lately he'll let me hold him in my hand above my lap while I scritch under his wings and on his head/neck. VERY sweet.

Today, we had our scritch time as usual, and then I HAD to get back to computer work. I was sitting in my recliner, and he crawled up on my chest, under my chin, and sort of settled there. My music was on softly, and I was concentrating on my writing. He started to chirp and whistle softly to the music, I wrote my article, he chirped more. He was very still. This went on for about a half an hour. SO sweet! I was entranced.

Well, then, he woke up. He started climbing around and finally went up the side of my laptop monitor while I wasn't paying much attention. Up there, he started to mutilate those bumps of hard rubber that keep the top from slamming down on the lower part of the computer. I awoke to the damage and said, "No, Pippin." He trilled, "Oh, yes, Mom, I sure WILL!!!!" I knew he would bite me if I used my hands, so I grabbed a pen and took him off the monitor.

This is a video of another caique (JoJo) who is having a tantrum because she's being denied her will. It was here that I learned to use the pen in order to assert my will. Pippin wasn't this bad, but he was starting down the road:



Pippin's tantrum wasn't that long. We had a brief argument. I put him in birdie jail.

For the uninitiated, here's what I've learned about birdie jail from my beloved Caique Forums:

"I read an article by an avian vet, who puts his birds in birdie jail when they act in undesirable ways. He explains why they are going there, then says birdie jail, and puts them in for a few minutes. Once they've calmed down, he takes them out. We've been doing this with Taz for about a month now, and it's a godsend! He is so well behaved now, and he rarely goes in anymore - the threat of birdie jail is enough. As a note though, we have a sleep cage in another room, without toys, so that's where he goes - not his big cage in our area. He's isolated for about 2-3 minutes. It sounds harsh, but it works!

"A new addition to this story - he's usually in birdie jail for screaming. Today, my husband was playing a video game with bombs going off. Taz hopped over to him, looked him over, and said, "Your going to birdie jail!" He now understands that if your loud, it's birdie jail. They definitely are smart - and anyone who says otherwise has obviously never had a chance to meet a parrot!"

So, Pippin went to birdie jail for an hour (as it turned out) and came out a better bird for it. Caiques can be sweeter than pie one minute, and then stronger and more stubborn than dirt two minutes later. That's the way with these great birdies: wouldn't change a thing!

Wolf whistles in the shower

So, no video of this one! ;)

I have had Pippin about six weeks and have been waiting to make sure that he's sure of foot before I put him on a perch in the shower. Don't want him to fall like Nani did and hurt himself. Until now, he's had spray baths on the bathroom counter while my husband and I take showers. Then he surfs his towel while we employ ours. He's very happy to do morning grooming with us.

Recently, I decided he was ready, so my husband put him way high up on the shower curtain rod to look down upon us as we showered. Also recently, Pippin mastered my personal signal for him (my flocking call) which is a wolf whistle. He definitely associates me with that call, and he does it when he gets excited about seeing me, particularly. He has my tone, pitch, and cadence down perfectly.

Well this morning was hilarious! Pippin was up on the shower curtain bar, walking (strutting?) back and forth and looking down at my husband, Scott, and wolf-whistling repeatedly. Scott is kind of modest, so he was a little weirded out by my whistle coming from the bird above. Then, I started laughing, and Pippin started to mimic my laugh, and then the whistle again. Then Scott started laughing, and Pipping was whistling, cackling, and whistling again. We laughed so hard that tears were rolling down our cheeks and our adult daughters (getting ready in the adjoining bathroom of our townhouse) wanted to know what was so funny!?

Pippin is such a joy! How did we ever bathe without him?

Travel cage

Yesterday I finally purchased a travel cage for Pippin. Here's a picture of the cage opened (click on all these pictures for a full view):

19" Length x 18" Depth x 19" Height :-) It's really roomy. Pippin got several new toys as well, and a rope perch, 'cause it's so easy for them to cling to them in a moving car.

The cool thing about this cage is that it folds almost flat: about 1.5" thick. Here's a picture:

Nifty, huh? Doubles as a cage to take him outside for sun, and will go with us camping. I'd looked a long time at this cage...


... but decided I could sew similar tent flaps for the bigger (and more easily stowed one) that I bought. I need to make sure to use mosquito netting or such tent flap to protect from West Nile Flu. :-) Our trailer is registered; we need to get it inspected and then "camping ho!"