Monday, January 31, 2011
Portland and The Oregon Zoo!! 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Browsing on the Internet
Well, I don't know if you are like me... but on my computer, most of my favorite websites are bookmarked and most are associated with parrots, or other animals. Kind of funny... my partner hops on to my computer, and I wonder what he must be thinking. I guess it's better than the alterrnative. lol!
I also like to hop onto Ebay classifieds and check out what new birds/animals are up for sale, or just looking to be rehomed. The same is true for Craigslist. I like to browse and just check out the ads... I have been thinking about another grey, probably a congo... or an amazon. Amazons however are louder, but tend to be more family oriented birds.
There is something that happens when greys interact together though...
I figure when fate steps in, and brings me to a bird... then, it is meant to be.
There is something that happens when greys interact together though...
I figure when fate steps in, and brings me to a bird... then, it is meant to be.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Cage Maintanance
Now depending on the cage that you have... its important to clean your cage every week. WARNING, if you have a powder coated cage DO NOT use vinegar and water, or the poop remover sprays (the contain vinegar). Vinegar breaks down the componets that keep the metal coated, therefore it flakes, and rusts. Rust can kill your bird quicker than anything.
While I am cleaning Dexters cage, I use a rag, that is soaked in warm water. If there is something stubborn that you need to get off the metal, I use a scrub brush... and make sure you rinse off the film with a clean wet cloth. No one wants residue smelling up your house.
I am usually kill two birds with one stone person... so when I am done cleaning my little man's cage, I rearrange his perches. Keeping these perches rearranged... again keeps him on his toes. Stimulating his natural curious side, and making him explore. I think the biggest problem with bird owners is "they don't want to do the work". Even smaller birds deserve someone who is going to attempt to keep them happy, healthy, and sane!
While I am cleaning Dexters cage, I use a rag, that is soaked in warm water. If there is something stubborn that you need to get off the metal, I use a scrub brush... and make sure you rinse off the film with a clean wet cloth. No one wants residue smelling up your house.
I am usually kill two birds with one stone person... so when I am done cleaning my little man's cage, I rearrange his perches. Keeping these perches rearranged... again keeps him on his toes. Stimulating his natural curious side, and making him explore. I think the biggest problem with bird owners is "they don't want to do the work". Even smaller birds deserve someone who is going to attempt to keep them happy, healthy, and sane!
Discovered... Vampire Flying Frogs!!
I was sent this link in an email, and thought... with all of the Vampire movies, turning them into a mysterioius phenominon, this article made me chuckle!!
Adults deposit their eggs in water pools in tree trunks, which protects their offspring from predators lurking in rivers and ponds.
"It has absolutely no reason to ever go down on the ground," said study leader Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney.
However, that trick isn't what earned the species its bloodsucking name. Rather, it's the strange curved "fangs" displayed by its tadpoles, which the scientists discovered in 2010.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Parrots Overcome Drug Abuse At Refuge | TeddyHilton.com
Came across this on another blog, its a really really interesting story!
Parrots Overcome Drug Abuse At Refuge TeddyHilton.com
Parrots Overcome Drug Abuse At Refuge TeddyHilton.com
Friday, January 21, 2011
dexter bathing
This is Dexter bathing in his old cage... yep, makes one helluva mess!
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Trying Patience...alas hormones.
Awww... today Dexter has decided that he is going to schrill like a high pitched fire alarm for attention, even when I am sitting steps away at the computer. I am noticing that he is definitely going through some changes, and I am trying to chalk it all up to hormones.
Interesting enough I found this article:
African Parrots
African Grey Parrots frequently demonstrate signs of breeding behavior. These events seem to be less of a seasonal nature and can occur year-round especially when there is a bonded owner. Warm food and abundant food will often trigger regurgitation behaviors. Commonly coupled with these behaviors is feather picking of the trunk and legs. Control of calories, especially rich simple carbohy-drates like pasta and cookies, is very helpful. Of serious consequence is the tendency of African Grey parrots to develop severe non-responsive dermatitis of the patagium. When closely monitored, these conditions appear to start with the loss of down and contours of the wing web. Superficial vessels usually appear dilated. If allowed to continue, secondary opportunistic yeast and bacterial infections may develop. Control of chronic dermatitis can be difficult, but early intervention and environmental and behavioral corrections that focus on decreasing hormonal stimulation are usually successful.
Considering the critical distance observed between African Grey parrots in the wild and in aviary situations, the role of physical affection demonstrated by frequent petting and body contact with an owner should be considered when addressing protracted breeding behavior and hormonal feather-picking in these birds.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I can say that the touching thing isn't an issue with Dexter, he is one of the "do not touch" me greys, and isnt really cuddly. He will also let you know what he is thinking. So the question remains, is there something that I did to possibly cause this "breeding/mating behavior? This is an article that I put in one of my African Grey Forums, and I got alot of feedback...
http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191932-Feathered-Piranha...&p=219691#post219691
it actually brought alot of things to light, and actually is the reason that I decided I wanted to continue this blog. I got some private messages that asked me to write, they enjoyed my style, and how my personality flowed on to the screen. (thanks btw)!
This Youtube video is a female African Grey exhibiting signs of Breeding behaviors.
another great quote from an article describing dealing with hormonal behaviors, and not discouraging/punishing for it
"I don't like recommending discouraging natural behaviors. I prefer finding another way around the problem. For example, when the bird tries "mating" with your husband's hand, your husband should move his hand away from the bird and tell the bird "no" (or whatever command you use with your bird). When the bird is whistling and you can't stand the noise, get your bird interested in something else instead of putting s/he in its cage and covering the cage (or leave the room for a bit until the bird stops). A mistake a lot of parrot owners make is they actually support bad behavior by their reaction to the behavior. In other words, putting the bird in its cage when it starts the high-pitched whistling may actually encourage the behavior because the bird may be doing this to get your attention. Putting the bird in the cage and covering it is a way of giving the bird exactly what it wants....attention. I recommend completely ignoring any bad behavior and ALWAYS reward positive behavior. When your bird doesn't whistle with high pitched sounds, reward it. When it does what you ask, reward it."
Interesting enough I found this article:
African Parrots
African Grey Parrots frequently demonstrate signs of breeding behavior. These events seem to be less of a seasonal nature and can occur year-round especially when there is a bonded owner. Warm food and abundant food will often trigger regurgitation behaviors. Commonly coupled with these behaviors is feather picking of the trunk and legs. Control of calories, especially rich simple carbohy-drates like pasta and cookies, is very helpful. Of serious consequence is the tendency of African Grey parrots to develop severe non-responsive dermatitis of the patagium. When closely monitored, these conditions appear to start with the loss of down and contours of the wing web. Superficial vessels usually appear dilated. If allowed to continue, secondary opportunistic yeast and bacterial infections may develop. Control of chronic dermatitis can be difficult, but early intervention and environmental and behavioral corrections that focus on decreasing hormonal stimulation are usually successful.
Considering the critical distance observed between African Grey parrots in the wild and in aviary situations, the role of physical affection demonstrated by frequent petting and body contact with an owner should be considered when addressing protracted breeding behavior and hormonal feather-picking in these birds.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I can say that the touching thing isn't an issue with Dexter, he is one of the "do not touch" me greys, and isnt really cuddly. He will also let you know what he is thinking. So the question remains, is there something that I did to possibly cause this "breeding/mating behavior? This is an article that I put in one of my African Grey Forums, and I got alot of feedback...
http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191932-Feathered-Piranha...&p=219691#post219691
it actually brought alot of things to light, and actually is the reason that I decided I wanted to continue this blog. I got some private messages that asked me to write, they enjoyed my style, and how my personality flowed on to the screen. (thanks btw)!
This Youtube video is a female African Grey exhibiting signs of Breeding behaviors.
another great quote from an article describing dealing with hormonal behaviors, and not discouraging/punishing for it
"I don't like recommending discouraging natural behaviors. I prefer finding another way around the problem. For example, when the bird tries "mating" with your husband's hand, your husband should move his hand away from the bird and tell the bird "no" (or whatever command you use with your bird). When the bird is whistling and you can't stand the noise, get your bird interested in something else instead of putting s/he in its cage and covering the cage (or leave the room for a bit until the bird stops). A mistake a lot of parrot owners make is they actually support bad behavior by their reaction to the behavior. In other words, putting the bird in its cage when it starts the high-pitched whistling may actually encourage the behavior because the bird may be doing this to get your attention. Putting the bird in the cage and covering it is a way of giving the bird exactly what it wants....attention. I recommend completely ignoring any bad behavior and ALWAYS reward positive behavior. When your bird doesn't whistle with high pitched sounds, reward it. When it does what you ask, reward it."
The Alex Foundation!
This is such an amazing cause!! Dr. Irene Pepperburg is such an inspiration to us all, and paved the way for the research of our feathered friends.
http://www.alexfoundation.org/
http://www.alexfoundation.org/
Thursday, January 20, 2011
celebrities with a bird thing...
I found this and thought it was kind of interesting...
Governor Cuomo & Sandra Lee - Umbrella Cockatoo
Marie Antoinette - African Grey
Casanova - Parrot loudly repeated his master's obscenities concerning his last romance to all who passed along the street
Winston Churchill - Female Blue & Gold Macaw named "Charlie"
Grover Cleveland - Canary
Calvin Coolidge - Canary, Mockingbird
Bandleader, Peter Duchin owns blackheaded caique "Igor" and severe macaw "Pedro"
Ulysses S. Grant - Parrot
Warren G. Harding - Canary
Rutherford Hayes - Canary
Andrew Jackson - Pol the Parrot
Lyndon B. Johnson - Lovebirds
Angelina Jolie - Parrot
John F. Kennedy - Canary, Parakeets Bluebell and Marybelle
King Henry VIII - African Grey
James Madison - Green Parrot
Dolly Madison owned a parrot that was rescued from the White House during the War of 1812, when the burning was taking place.
William McKinley - Parrot
Theodore Roosevelt's Family - Hyacinth named Eli Yale kept at White House
Stephen Spielberg - "Blanche", the Panana Amazon Parrot
Elizabeth Taylor - Yellow Nape Amazon Parrot
Martha Washington, First Lady - Polly the Parrot (George is said to have hated the parrot)
Paris Hilton - BareEyed Cockatoo
Christie Brinkley - Parrot
Hillary Swank - African Grey named "Seuss"
King George V - "Charlotte", African Grey
Queen Victoria - "Coco", African Grey
Dutchess of Lennox - African Grey
see we arent the only ones who have a thing for feathered friends!
Governor Cuomo & Sandra Lee - Umbrella Cockatoo
Marie Antoinette - African Grey
Casanova - Parrot loudly repeated his master's obscenities concerning his last romance to all who passed along the street
Winston Churchill - Female Blue & Gold Macaw named "Charlie"
Grover Cleveland - Canary
Calvin Coolidge - Canary, Mockingbird
Bandleader, Peter Duchin owns blackheaded caique "Igor" and severe macaw "Pedro"
Ulysses S. Grant - Parrot
Warren G. Harding - Canary
Rutherford Hayes - Canary
Andrew Jackson - Pol the Parrot
Lyndon B. Johnson - Lovebirds
Angelina Jolie - Parrot
John F. Kennedy - Canary, Parakeets Bluebell and Marybelle
King Henry VIII - African Grey
James Madison - Green Parrot
Dolly Madison owned a parrot that was rescued from the White House during the War of 1812, when the burning was taking place.
William McKinley - Parrot
Theodore Roosevelt's Family - Hyacinth named Eli Yale kept at White House
Stephen Spielberg - "Blanche", the Panana Amazon Parrot
Elizabeth Taylor - Yellow Nape Amazon Parrot
Martha Washington, First Lady - Polly the Parrot (George is said to have hated the parrot)
Paris Hilton - BareEyed Cockatoo
Christie Brinkley - Parrot
Hillary Swank - African Grey named "Seuss"
King George V - "Charlotte", African Grey
Queen Victoria - "Coco", African Grey
Dutchess of Lennox - African Grey
see we arent the only ones who have a thing for feathered friends!
A fresh beginning...
New Starts are usually pretty scary... well I had wanted an African Grey Parrot for twenty years (got my first issue of Bird Talk when I was twelve), let's not do the math. I believe the stars were aligned when I started looking and a few weeks later, after trying to decide baby vs. rescue, and there was Dexter on Ebay Classifieds. He was very inexpensive for a Timneh (http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/africangreys/a/africangreys.htm for those of you who arent familiar with African Grey's subspecies) and I was met by him at the door on the shoulder of his previous owner.
Dexter has a tendency to do a weird whistle when he's nervous almost like a "What's up". I of course looked at all the factors , cleanliness, and behavior. However who is to know what the hell you are going to get yourself into when you "recycle" an older bird. Nerves can dictate them changing their behavior, and a new environment can put them in what some like to call a "honeymoon" phase. You think that they are soooo quiet, and so reserved, and trust me I know... I am the luckiest parrot owner in the world. Boom... someday when you are least expecting it to happen, you will be hit with something that you would never expected. Don't say i didn't warn ya... lol! However I can tell you that you will survive.
When I started this blog I thought that I was going to have profound moments of rescuing this little guy and I would document everything and eventually take my love and compassion for this "abused" animal and turn it into a book. WRONG! lol! Dexter actually hasnt been that much of a problem (KNOCK WOOD), and is very determined to stay true to himself and not even attempt to try things that he doesnt want to. That is one thing that I learned when I was younger and got my first birds, they are much like people and they will basically have their own temperments, and they will not change into what you want them to be, no matter what. So you just have to deal with it. Those birds that you see on TV have been trained for years, and they have been trained by people that have been working with animals for years. No one is Dr Doolittle.
So basically to make a long story short... I think you are pretty much caught up. We travel with Dexter in his travel cage, and he loves it. My aunt told me about her Mexican Red Amazon that would get car sick in trips. She said it would be once in a lifetime to see a parrot vomiting due to motion sickness. Thankfully Dexter is a pro in the car, and really just wants to be with my partner Eric, his golden retriever Clay and just me... the flock.
Dexter has a tendency to do a weird whistle when he's nervous almost like a "What's up". I of course looked at all the factors , cleanliness, and behavior. However who is to know what the hell you are going to get yourself into when you "recycle" an older bird. Nerves can dictate them changing their behavior, and a new environment can put them in what some like to call a "honeymoon" phase. You think that they are soooo quiet, and so reserved, and trust me I know... I am the luckiest parrot owner in the world. Boom... someday when you are least expecting it to happen, you will be hit with something that you would never expected. Don't say i didn't warn ya... lol! However I can tell you that you will survive.
When I started this blog I thought that I was going to have profound moments of rescuing this little guy and I would document everything and eventually take my love and compassion for this "abused" animal and turn it into a book. WRONG! lol! Dexter actually hasnt been that much of a problem (KNOCK WOOD), and is very determined to stay true to himself and not even attempt to try things that he doesnt want to. That is one thing that I learned when I was younger and got my first birds, they are much like people and they will basically have their own temperments, and they will not change into what you want them to be, no matter what. So you just have to deal with it. Those birds that you see on TV have been trained for years, and they have been trained by people that have been working with animals for years. No one is Dr Doolittle.
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