Saturday, May 11, 2013
Using science to stop plucking
Positive Parroting podcast on using science to deal with feather plucking: http://www.chloesanctuary.org/styled-43/index.html
Friday, May 10, 2013
Sugar
Sugars feather destructive behavior is a real fight for us. The moment we are using a collar to restrain her and Paxil to calm her. 
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Even horse manure is organic
In one of the parrot groups somebody asked for an appraisal of why her 13yo umbrella cockatoo was acting crazy all night long. It was followed by a response from someone who tried to blame the issue on adolescence and hormonal issues.
I felt forced to respond. Umbrellas reach adulthood by five years of age and the mating season is from November until March. The response that was given had so many errors that it made me cringe Including an attempt to frighten by a alluding to the potential for bites.
Here is my response:
Two things come to mind: Rumford baking powder and a smartphone. I'll get to the reason for those things in a moment.
It is difficult to assess the behavior of a Cockatoo based on description only. In these situations you should video what your bird is doing. By reviewing such videos a behaviorist, and anyone who can critically observe the behavior, should be able to sort out the reason for such a display if it is behavioral and not medical.
Now to the baking powder. One day I was cooking dinner for Chloe and Lauralei. This was back before I took my classes in behavioral science. Suddenly, Chloe began to scream and acted in some of the ways similar to those That you have described. Cockatoos are sensitive to their environment and I began looking around to see if I had added something that might've caused such a behavior. It took about 15 minutes of picking things up and moving them out of her sight. When I came to the baking powder and put the can out of her vision she abruptly stopped her radical behavior.
If I had taken video of her during that time it would have shown that her eyes were focused in one direction, at the can. It also would have proved amusing to anyone who watched the video as they saw me move around completely oblivious of the obvious focus in her eyes. That's where the smart phone comes in: taking video.
I spent the big bucks and took Dr. Friedman's professional class in behavioral analysis directed at Parrot behavior after this incident. It has made all the difference in the world.
Please be careful when assessing responses to your question. Many people have developed their ideas Without consulting scientific consensus. Unfortunately, if you try to understand behavior based on anecdotal advice it can make the problem worse.
I asked a friend of mine who had a similar problem with her umbrella cockatoo and I asked what she had changed. She told me she could think of nothing. I had to grin. She had gone from brunette to redhead. No change at all.
You might consider reading Barbara Heidenreich's the parrot problem solver or enrolling in the parrot BAS group on Yahoo.
I felt forced to respond. Umbrellas reach adulthood by five years of age and the mating season is from November until March. The response that was given had so many errors that it made me cringe Including an attempt to frighten by a alluding to the potential for bites.
Here is my response:
Two things come to mind: Rumford baking powder and a smartphone. I'll get to the reason for those things in a moment.
It is difficult to assess the behavior of a Cockatoo based on description only. In these situations you should video what your bird is doing. By reviewing such videos a behaviorist, and anyone who can critically observe the behavior, should be able to sort out the reason for such a display if it is behavioral and not medical.
Now to the baking powder. One day I was cooking dinner for Chloe and Lauralei. This was back before I took my classes in behavioral science. Suddenly, Chloe began to scream and acted in some of the ways similar to those That you have described. Cockatoos are sensitive to their environment and I began looking around to see if I had added something that might've caused such a behavior. It took about 15 minutes of picking things up and moving them out of her sight. When I came to the baking powder and put the can out of her vision she abruptly stopped her radical behavior.
If I had taken video of her during that time it would have shown that her eyes were focused in one direction, at the can. It also would have proved amusing to anyone who watched the video as they saw me move around completely oblivious of the obvious focus in her eyes. That's where the smart phone comes in: taking video.
I spent the big bucks and took Dr. Friedman's professional class in behavioral analysis directed at Parrot behavior after this incident. It has made all the difference in the world.
Please be careful when assessing responses to your question. Many people have developed their ideas Without consulting scientific consensus. Unfortunately, if you try to understand behavior based on anecdotal advice it can make the problem worse.
I asked a friend of mine who had a similar problem with her umbrella cockatoo and I asked what she had changed. She told me she could think of nothing. I had to grin. She had gone from brunette to redhead. No change at all.
You might consider reading Barbara Heidenreich's the parrot problem solver or enrolling in the parrot BAS group on Yahoo.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Are Pellet diets safe? How do I change my bird's diet?
On one of the Yahoo! Groups someone asked about pelleted diets. They were concerned that liver damage might occur over time. They can't feed their bird fresh foods because it won't eat them. With a little coaxing they can get their bird to eat a smoothie. Here is our response:
Honestly, no one knows the answer to that question. Most of the nutritional formulation of pellets is derived from what we know of poultry husbandry. Harrison's pellets were formulated by the same vet who commissioned the text clinical avian medicine. That's the pellet we supply our birds.
I've changed the diet of many birds here at the sanctuary. When they come to us they are often used eating terrible things. One relinquisher told me "She will be easy to feed. She eats anything." I am not a junk food junkie and don't have things like frosted flakes, cookies, and Cheetos around the sanctuary. That was the cockatoo's choice in food. I've had this bird with me now for about three months and she is eating the mash that I make of organic vegetables, grains, and beans. The process of changing a bird's diet can take a long time. The above mentioned bird gets health-food varieties that are the equivalent of the junk food items that she is used to along with the mash. Finding low sugar and salt replacements nearly drove me nuts but I had no choice: this wonderful bird destroys her feathers and without comfort food she mutilates.
The key to changing a bird's diet is to be aware of what they like and find ways to make small changes. With Sugar, the Moluccan aptly named for her diet, I presented many different kinds of cooked food. She readily ate cooked yams. From there I began slowly adding other items to the yams until she was eating almost the same mash as the others. By the way, I do vary items in the mash and the flavors because birds seem to tire of the same food every day.
As with any training the changes are made in baby steps, small approximations. You begin with things they already eat and make slight changes observing the results. This process can go on for a long time.
One umbrella cockatoo with us, Coco, would only eat bananas, oats, and peanut butter from a spoon held for her when she came here. Now she holds her own spoon and eats the mash on her own. She wouldn't eat peanut butter, bananas and oatmeal today; her taste in food is completely different now.
You can change your bird's diet. You can. If you have ever seen a trained killer whale this should make you realize that there is science behind shaping behavior. The trainer had no special gift from a higher power: the trainer used proven scientific methods. Behavior training works! Doing what I do I would be up the creek without a paddle if I had not learned to use it.
Since your bird is already eating a smoothie. That's where you should start.
Honestly, no one knows the answer to that question. Most of the nutritional formulation of pellets is derived from what we know of poultry husbandry. Harrison's pellets were formulated by the same vet who commissioned the text clinical avian medicine. That's the pellet we supply our birds.
I've changed the diet of many birds here at the sanctuary. When they come to us they are often used eating terrible things. One relinquisher told me "She will be easy to feed. She eats anything." I am not a junk food junkie and don't have things like frosted flakes, cookies, and Cheetos around the sanctuary. That was the cockatoo's choice in food. I've had this bird with me now for about three months and she is eating the mash that I make of organic vegetables, grains, and beans. The process of changing a bird's diet can take a long time. The above mentioned bird gets health-food varieties that are the equivalent of the junk food items that she is used to along with the mash. Finding low sugar and salt replacements nearly drove me nuts but I had no choice: this wonderful bird destroys her feathers and without comfort food she mutilates.
The key to changing a bird's diet is to be aware of what they like and find ways to make small changes. With Sugar, the Moluccan aptly named for her diet, I presented many different kinds of cooked food. She readily ate cooked yams. From there I began slowly adding other items to the yams until she was eating almost the same mash as the others. By the way, I do vary items in the mash and the flavors because birds seem to tire of the same food every day.
As with any training the changes are made in baby steps, small approximations. You begin with things they already eat and make slight changes observing the results. This process can go on for a long time.
One umbrella cockatoo with us, Coco, would only eat bananas, oats, and peanut butter from a spoon held for her when she came here. Now she holds her own spoon and eats the mash on her own. She wouldn't eat peanut butter, bananas and oatmeal today; her taste in food is completely different now.
You can change your bird's diet. You can. If you have ever seen a trained killer whale this should make you realize that there is science behind shaping behavior. The trainer had no special gift from a higher power: the trainer used proven scientific methods. Behavior training works! Doing what I do I would be up the creek without a paddle if I had not learned to use it.
Since your bird is already eating a smoothie. That's where you should start.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Death
"In the presence of death, we must continue to sing the song of life. We must be able to accept death and go from it's presence better able to bear our burdens and to lighten the load of others. Out of our sorrows should come understanding. Through our sorrows, we join with all of those before who have had to suffer and all of those who will yet have to do so. Let us not be gripped by the fear of death. If another day be added to our lives, let us joyfully receive it, but let us not anxiously depend on our tomorrows. Though we grieve the deaths of our loved ones, we accept them and hold on to our memories as precious gifts. Let us make the best of our loved ones while they are with us, and let us not bury our love with death." -- the Roman philosopher, Seneca
Murri, you live on the altar of my heart.
Father Don
Murri, you live on the altar of my heart.
Father Don
Friday, March 22, 2013
A Tribute To A Special Lady -- Murri
A Tribute To A Special Lady
Murrietta
by Carina Graham
I received a call from my sister. “So… we have a parrot here, and we don’t know what to do with it.”
Once upon a time there was an elderly man who could no longer take care of himself. His family decided to put him into an assisted living facility. The problem? This man had a parrot, an African grey and no one else in the family knew what to do with the bird. After asking around, someone in the family gave this parrot to their dog’s groomer. Though the groomer was an animal lover, she was aware that she had no experience or knowledge when it came to caring for birds. Fortunately for the african grey parrot, this groomer was my sister’s roommate.
She brought the bird home and then called me, a brand-new recruit to The Chloe Sanctuary for Parrots and Cockatoos. And I’ll admit it… I panicked a little. A real parrot! With no home! Abandoned! Oh no! What to do?
So I did what any new volunteer would do. I called the director of our sanctuary to ask for help. After explaining the situation to Father Don, he asked me to bring the bird over. I left my house right away and drove forty-five minutes to my sister’s.
When I arrived, I found a grey bird, much smaller that I had imagined, standing in the back of her cage staring at me. “Her name is Murri,” my sister said, “short for Murrieta. She talks, but she hasn’t said anything yet.”
I sized Murri up, and I think she did the same to me. She stood, silent and still, probably apprehensive about what was going to happen to her. Her chest and legs were plucked of feathers, giving her a very ragged appearance. Perhaps it had been a lifelong condition, or maybe it was something that had come with the stress of recent events. When we loaded up my SUV and put her and her travel cage in the front seat of my car it didn’t help matters. Poor Murri, having just left her owner of however many years and being passed from house to house in a very short amount of time probably didn’t know what to think of all the commotion. We got her in, and off I went on a short drive to Father Don’s.
I wanted to make this little bird feel better, so I played music and I sang and I talked to her. Murri just stood still and stared at me. I vividly remember her golden eyes watching me as I sang, wary and unsure, as if wondering what I would do to her next.
We made it to Don’s place unscathed, and he met us outside. He opened the passenger side door to help carry Murri inside. And this grey parrot that had been still and silent this entire time looked at him, stood up straight and tall, and said very clearly:
“Murri.”
It was as if she was introducing herself. And Don took the prompt right away. “Hi Murri!” he said enthusiastically. “Want to come in?”
That was the start of it, and in that very moment I knew I was witnessing something special. Murri hadn’t spoken a word to me, my sister, or her roommates this whole time but there was something about Father Don that she instantly connected with, and connected enough to want him to know who she was.
There is one thing I’ve learned in volunteering with an animal rescue. A person can work as hard as they possibly can and help to save as many lives as humanly possible but when a parrot chooses you, that’s something that cannot be replicated or replaced. Murri definitely chose Don.
Over the years, Father Don worked very hard with that girl. He helped to reduce her feather destructive behavior. She became more vocal with him. They withstood a house fire and a move together. He observed amazing behaviors between her and the cockatoos in his care. She taught him things about parrots, and he taught her to love and trust a human again. Over the years, they forged a strong bond.
Anyone who knows Father Don knows that he has many cockatoos in his care. As one might think, having several of these giant white birds keeps a person very busy but Don still made time for Murri, personal time set aside every night for her and him to spend together, time that they both cherished and needed from each other. Over the years, she developed her own special word that she only shared with Don. She would say “Murr”, a shortened version of her name, like a little purr. Only for her special person.
Those of us around them, who never heard that special word, grew to love Murri nonetheless. We were amused and delighted by her antics. She would boss around those cockatoos like a pygmy queen sitting on her perch! “Oh good grief!” Murri would cry, watching those white creatures chase each other across their cages. When Don would bring a special snack of almond butter, she would say, feeling most satisfied, “You’re a good boy!” Sometimes, when no one was paying much attention to her, she would politely cough, just enough to startle a person into looking at her, before we remembered that parrots don’t actually cough.
Murri was an old parrot when she came into Father Don’s care. At least fifty, Doctor Young estimated by her feather condition and her arthritis. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when her weight began to fluctuate in the last year, or when she began to drop some of her clever vocabulary. Still, no one expected the end to come.
On March 10, Murri had a neurological event, perhaps a stroke. She had an issue with motor skills right away, but slowly recovered them. Physically, she was weak, but mentally she was sharp. She showed signs of knowing her name, and knowing her special person. All the volunteers with The Chloe Sanctuary held our breath for days while she slowly recovered. Perching, eating, responding to cues from Don. She had ups and downs. Times when she was so exhausted she could hardly stand on her feet, or when she would stand on the bottom of her cage with her chin resting on her perch and would sleep for hours.
Our wonderful avian vet, Dr. Lee Young of Discovery Animal Hospital in San Marcos, examined her and confirmed our worst fears, that Murri was suffering from a protein deficit, especially the proteins that help with immune response. It wasn’t something that was treatable. Murri was just an old bird, and like any mortal creature, her body began to give out.
I helped Don pick her up from the vet after an overnight stay, and when the assistants brought her out I heard that bird give a sweet cry of “Murr!” as soon as she saw her special person. Murri only had eyes for Don, and did well on the way back to his home. There I was privilidged to hold her while Don prepared some food and while we all sat and talked for some time after. Murri was exhausted. She laid in my hands and fell asleep several times in her dish of food. Still, she kept hearing Don’s voice and kept waking up and looking over at him with those bright, golden eyes of hers.
The next day, Murri seemed to wake up. She was eating well, and giving Don attitude about getting almonds. She made bubble sounds when she was spoken to and reacted to her surroundings. She and Don had a last, good day and then Murri drifted away. Thankfully she didn’t exhibit pain or suffering, just seemed so very sleepy at the end. Yet even the most peaceful death is heartbreaking to those that love. There are many, many people who loved Murri. I cannot speak for her caretaker, the person she loved the most and who loved her the same. I know that he must be aching beyond reason or comprehension at the loss of his beloved companion, but I can say that Murri was the first parrot I ever helped to rescue. She was the one who made the mission of The Chloe Sanctuary real to me. She was the first bird I witnessed coming from a state of petrified fear and uncertainty to finding a loving, secure home. She was the first bird I witnessed learn to love and trust again, to watch her unfold like a flower over time, revealing a little more of herself as she got more comfortable and felt more safe.
Thank you, Murri. Thank you for the opportunity to know you in the beginning and the end. Thank you for giving us human beings a second chance after you were given away so freely. And thank you for helping to build a rescue group that has, and will continue to help more birds like you.
Please remember, friends, that the mission to rescue these special creatures is not free. Times are tough for us all right now, but if you can make a donation (perhaps in Murri’s memory), The Chloe Sanctuary will continue to help save more parrots in need.
We are grieving, but we know our mission is never over. While there will never be another Murri, there is always another bird who is hurting, who is just waiting to show someone how very special they are.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A note on Willow
Mina just emailed me and informed me that she forgot an important point. When she brought Willow home the first thing she did was weigh her. It's important to keep track of the birds weight. It's a gauge of their physical health.
Willow Has A Home
On Sunday I adopted a Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Willow. I already have a Lesser, Haley Deja’Too, and she has been my happy place for the last six years. To the best of our knowledge, Willow is about ten years old and I’m at least her third home. This is going to be a major adjustment and I’ll try to share this adventure with anyone willing to read about it. For now I’ll just share some things I have taken into consideration.
I decided to bring Willow home on a Sunday night. I know a lot of people wonder why I didn’t do it Friday night so I had the entire weekend to help her settle in and be with her. It’s exciting to have a new family member but when it comes to cockatoos, that’s the worst possible thing I could have done. Cockatoos love stability and consistency. If I had brought this little angel home and got her relaxed then two days later left her for work, she would’ve been stressed out. Instead I wanted to have her immediately on the schedule my current flock is on.
I have been mindful not to lavish too much attention on her. Now that is HARD! She’s so cute and even cries/whines. How much is too much? That is actually easy to determine. I want to give her the amount of attention I will give her each week night after work. No more, no less. Do I want to leave work early, skip the gym, ignore the wash just one more day and nom on her beak? I sure do! But this will hurt her in the long run.
When you introduce a new bird into an existing flock you have to be careful to keep things consistent. The existing members need to have the same amount of attention as always, with just a little bit of reassurance added as they will be nervous.
It hasn’t been a week yet and my flock is already calming down. Willow is calming down as well and settling in. Please don’t let that fool you into thinking this is who she is. Oh no! The “honeymoon period” for birds is an average of two weeks. That’s how long it takes for them to relax and let their true personality out. I know that my adventure is far from over. Little discoveries come up each day and how I deal with them sets the precedence for our future. For example, when she started “barking” for my attention (and NOT using her indoor voice) I could not run over to stop her. That would reinforce the behavior for whenever she wanted to call me. I reacted by attempting to change the bark. I whistled in response. Only when she whistled back or made a more pleasing sound would I respond to by praising her. I do not respond to the bark. It is already being used much less. This is a critical time for us.
Besides the consideration of my home environment and my behavior, I had to observe Willow. She had chewed her little legs bare and around her tail prior to her adoption. There is a bump that I was lucky enough to be able to get a picture of in her tail area. I emailed our vet’s office immediately. He feels it is a feather follicle cyst. She has an appointment 3/2/13 and he will address it then. This is where having a good vet prepared and on your team becomes important! I have also observed that she only plays with toys she watches other birds play with. Where she was at there was a cockatoo with a wood toy. She chewed (only a little) on her wood toy. Right now she is only chewing on the toy Haley is working on. She also prefers to be on top of her cage, sliding up and down the bars with her head down, dragging her beak like a prisoner in a jail cell with a tin cup. This is common in a lot of cockatoos. Haley doesn’t do it but I’ve heard about it and seen it many times before. It’s a mild neurosis that I will make certain her vet is aware of. In the meantime I plan to let her play on her cage for a few hours every night so she knows she will always be allowed out and being in her cage is not permanent.
Like many cockatoos, she throws her food. This one is a first for me and I’m sure every person out there owned by a bird feels it’s about time! Willow is a good girl and just the other day I got my first hug from her.
If you are wondering why I chose to adopt Willow, it was for two reasons. I didn’t think I’d find another Lesser female to adopt and felt it was best for Haley that I chose another of “her own kind”. I knew I was adopting at least one cockatoo already. The second is simply that she chose me. Even though her cage was labeled “does not like women”, she wanted my attention and I could pick her up. No one else could get her out of her cage. She simply would just come to me each time.
This adjustment is going to be a lengthy process. I imagine it will could take a year before Willow and Haley will sit on me together. I’m patient and we have all the time in the world. We will keep you informed about our journey of love.
Mina
To see Willow in her new home click here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3x259y0I8
I decided to bring Willow home on a Sunday night. I know a lot of people wonder why I didn’t do it Friday night so I had the entire weekend to help her settle in and be with her. It’s exciting to have a new family member but when it comes to cockatoos, that’s the worst possible thing I could have done. Cockatoos love stability and consistency. If I had brought this little angel home and got her relaxed then two days later left her for work, she would’ve been stressed out. Instead I wanted to have her immediately on the schedule my current flock is on.
I have been mindful not to lavish too much attention on her. Now that is HARD! She’s so cute and even cries/whines. How much is too much? That is actually easy to determine. I want to give her the amount of attention I will give her each week night after work. No more, no less. Do I want to leave work early, skip the gym, ignore the wash just one more day and nom on her beak? I sure do! But this will hurt her in the long run.
When you introduce a new bird into an existing flock you have to be careful to keep things consistent. The existing members need to have the same amount of attention as always, with just a little bit of reassurance added as they will be nervous.
It hasn’t been a week yet and my flock is already calming down. Willow is calming down as well and settling in. Please don’t let that fool you into thinking this is who she is. Oh no! The “honeymoon period” for birds is an average of two weeks. That’s how long it takes for them to relax and let their true personality out. I know that my adventure is far from over. Little discoveries come up each day and how I deal with them sets the precedence for our future. For example, when she started “barking” for my attention (and NOT using her indoor voice) I could not run over to stop her. That would reinforce the behavior for whenever she wanted to call me. I reacted by attempting to change the bark. I whistled in response. Only when she whistled back or made a more pleasing sound would I respond to by praising her. I do not respond to the bark. It is already being used much less. This is a critical time for us.
Besides the consideration of my home environment and my behavior, I had to observe Willow. She had chewed her little legs bare and around her tail prior to her adoption. There is a bump that I was lucky enough to be able to get a picture of in her tail area. I emailed our vet’s office immediately. He feels it is a feather follicle cyst. She has an appointment 3/2/13 and he will address it then. This is where having a good vet prepared and on your team becomes important! I have also observed that she only plays with toys she watches other birds play with. Where she was at there was a cockatoo with a wood toy. She chewed (only a little) on her wood toy. Right now she is only chewing on the toy Haley is working on. She also prefers to be on top of her cage, sliding up and down the bars with her head down, dragging her beak like a prisoner in a jail cell with a tin cup. This is common in a lot of cockatoos. Haley doesn’t do it but I’ve heard about it and seen it many times before. It’s a mild neurosis that I will make certain her vet is aware of. In the meantime I plan to let her play on her cage for a few hours every night so she knows she will always be allowed out and being in her cage is not permanent.
Like many cockatoos, she throws her food. This one is a first for me and I’m sure every person out there owned by a bird feels it’s about time! Willow is a good girl and just the other day I got my first hug from her.
If you are wondering why I chose to adopt Willow, it was for two reasons. I didn’t think I’d find another Lesser female to adopt and felt it was best for Haley that I chose another of “her own kind”. I knew I was adopting at least one cockatoo already. The second is simply that she chose me. Even though her cage was labeled “does not like women”, she wanted my attention and I could pick her up. No one else could get her out of her cage. She simply would just come to me each time.
This adjustment is going to be a lengthy process. I imagine it will could take a year before Willow and Haley will sit on me together. I’m patient and we have all the time in the world. We will keep you informed about our journey of love.
Mina
To see Willow in her new home click here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3x259y0I8
Monday, February 18, 2013
Peaches food preferences.
Except for Peaches no one here will eat dry food when presented with wet. They like cooked food. Peaches, on the other hand, wants both at the same time.
Who am I to challenge that? The Harrison's pellets are wonderful.
Who am I to challenge that? The Harrison's pellets are wonderful.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Vegans find the news amusing
In Europe and old children's favorite is being revived: but, instead of Winnie the Pooh we now have Winnie in Poo especially if you eat lasagna.
------
What's the proper way to refuse lasagna when it's the special at the restaurant?
Just say, "Nay, not today."
-----
For those of us who chose to avoid harming animals by eating them it makes no difference whether it is horse meat or beef.
------
What's the proper way to refuse lasagna when it's the special at the restaurant?
Just say, "Nay, not today."
-----
For those of us who chose to avoid harming animals by eating them it makes no difference whether it is horse meat or beef.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Mr Right
My dad was laughing today. He had picked up the phone and spoken into it and then he hung up and began to laugh. There is what he said:
Who are you looking for? Mr. Right? Boy lady, you've got the wrong number!
Who are you looking for? Mr. Right? Boy lady, you've got the wrong number!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Roman Has Invaded
Roman came to us as a frightened and reclusive bird. He's now Roamin' around and and active part of the flock!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A wise cockatoo
A sulfur crested cockatoo was hunting around in a courtyard for food. While she could not find any seeds there were a number of tasty looking pellets. She bent down to eat one, stopped, and had to reconsider. Why?
She realized she was in a pellet court.
She realized she was in a pellet court.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
He likes Marilyn Manson and Elvis Pressley
Trying to take a picture of a bird who likes Marilyn Manson and Elvis Pressley is one tough job. Babalu has more snap and crackle than a downed high tension wire. He turns chunks of 2 x 4 into toothpicks in minutes.
All that said, I trust him more than almost any other bird I know. I know exactly where he stands.
Most people are afraid of him. And in some ways I have to chuckle. Afraid of a bird slightly more than 1 pound in weight? I've never seen him do much more than nip but he sure does manipulate people well.
All that said, I trust him more than almost any other bird I know. I know exactly where he stands.
Most people are afraid of him. And in some ways I have to chuckle. Afraid of a bird slightly more than 1 pound in weight? I've never seen him do much more than nip but he sure does manipulate people well.
Happiness is a full stomach
When I was taking anthropology in college I studied a group of people called the Ik. The Kenyan Government had stripped them of their culture and tried to turn them into agriculturalists, an attempt that did more than fail. By the age of six most girls had turn to prostitution and starvation had become mode of life.
What I learned about those people is something that is important to the lives of parrots as well, especially those who are newly brought into sanctuaries. Colin Turnbull, who studied these people firsthand, learned that the word for happiness was exactly the same word word as the word for full stomach. After watching what happened to Sugar when she came here I now understand that: it is terrible to be hungry; it is terrible to be separated from your former life; how much more terrible it is to be hungry and separated from your former life.
The first goal that should be achieved when rehabilitating a new member of the flock should be a full stomach.
What I learned about those people is something that is important to the lives of parrots as well, especially those who are newly brought into sanctuaries. Colin Turnbull, who studied these people firsthand, learned that the word for happiness was exactly the same word word as the word for full stomach. After watching what happened to Sugar when she came here I now understand that: it is terrible to be hungry; it is terrible to be separated from your former life; how much more terrible it is to be hungry and separated from your former life.
The first goal that should be achieved when rehabilitating a new member of the flock should be a full stomach.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Breakfast today
On the left almond mash with noodles. On the right fruit salad and birdie biscuits with bird safe gravy.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Our resident Houdini, thief and burglar
Cecil is amazing. He grew up mistaken for a female and abandoned because he didn't produce eggs. What he does well is Clandestine operations. Perhaps he should've been named James Bond. He doesn't just break out of cages he busts tack welds like they were nothing. He makes his own toys. He breaks into forbidden territory.
Keep your daughter from him. He's a Casanova, too.
Keep your daughter from him. He's a Casanova, too.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Sugar on my shoulder
My mother always stressed that if we spilled salt we had to throw some over our shoulder. Rather than do this, my new method is simply to put sugar on my shoulder. It is somehow much more satisfying.
Cozma at play
Cozma has become much more playful of late. She has overcome that look in her eyes that resembled a doll.
Ah, Peace
With mating season still in full swing peaceful moments like those depicted in this picture are rare. Here is Lauralei taking that rare nap.
Peaches' Diet
Our Peaches, our girl with six fused vertebrae and recently recovered from major surgery, has a wide ranging diet now. Today she ate some of the mash, some banana, and tangerine as well as some of the muffin.
Changing a cockatoo's diet.
When Sugar came to us she was addicted to human food. She liked cookies crackers and chips. I made a mistake of trying to change her diet too quickly. The result was severe emotional stress. Now she is converted to eating our mash but she still likes the occasional snack. One thing I found that she will snack on that is good for her is my muffins. Today's repast is banana nut. As you can see from the picture of wide variety of foods is offered. She also ate some mango.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Coco has a new breakfast food
Coco, one of our long-standing anti-breakfast birds, has decided she likes something new. Potatoes and rice in silk cream sauce.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Peaches Gets Ahead In Life
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