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1/22/2006 Life is getting betterThings are getting better here with the birds. I had to learn how to handle them the right way. I'm not assertive enough; one of my friends told me I had to be the "alpha" bird. So, BoBo got taken down a step or two. I had to get this message out; he's hard to interact with when he tries to assert himself. He bites hard. I take a rolled up towel in one hand to distract him, then come behind him with the other to get him to "step back" for me. That's how I avoid getting bit. So far, it works. Once he learns how to beat me at this game, however, I'll have to invent a new method of "being boss" without getting my hands torn up from his powerful beak.
1/19/2006 Getting OrganizedSome gal named Stephanie Winston once wrote a book called, "Getting Organized." I read it, but still can't do the things she suggested. She said that if you have clothes or other items you haven't used in a year you should throw them out. That's hard to do. What if I need them?
I can't apply that logic to my biggest current problem, my birds. I'm trying to get a routine established, but, inevitably, I end up running around at birdie bedtime like a chicken with his head cut off. Last night right before birdie bedtime I had a neighbor knock on my door. She doesn't know how to use a computer & wanted me to give her everything on the internet about Ethiopia, teach her how to use the computer, & book her a roundtrip reservation to Ethiopia & back! Like I can do all that in a few minutes.... especially at birdie bedtime.
While talking to her about all this I am pressured by a feeling of haste. We get to talking about negro rights in Colonial USA & I'm showing her a famously written resource on negroes in colonial North Carolina. I think, "I need to show her this Will this guy wrote to protect his negro wife from slavery." I run into my bedroom to look for a paper & step right into some diarrhea Sally has left on the carpet for me! Boy am I in a mess! I hop back into the computer room on one foot & tell her I have a mess to clean up. I hobble into the bathroom to wash my foot off in the tub, then back into the computer room. I apologize & tell her that I just can't spend the time right now to talk to her; I've got to wash food & water bowls before I put the birds to bed, & I have to take the paper filter out of my shopvac & put in the plastic one, then get water & hose up the doggie doo in the bedroom.
She leaves with the literature I've printed out for her & the North Carolina works, telling me she'll be back next week same time. That was at 7:00 p.m. Finally, at 9:30 p.m. I get to sit down & have my supper. All I've had to eat today was a bowl of cereal. See what I mean? I need to get organized... 1/17/2006 Do not call registry for cell phones.Please be advised that there is now a "Do Not Call" list for cell phones. This will keep sales solicitors from pestering you. Go to the below link & sign up for this so someone else doesn't have control over how many minutes YOU have to pay for:
BoBo is mad at me!I think BoBo is seeing red these days. I guess I've spoiled him. He's throwing royal fits to get to interact with Kiko. I decided to let them interact again this afternoon. She does not want to do so, however, & keeps running away from him. I walked toward them to pick up Kiko & got bit on the toe. So, BoBo the bad bird got put back into his cage. Kiko is on my shoulder; I know he hates it but I'm hoping he'll see that misbehaving has unhappy consequences.
Cindi 1/15/2006 More additions to the family!We now have two more additions to our family: Kiko and Dinky. Kiko is a female Patagonian Conure & Dinky is a male (we think) Green-Cheeked Conure. So that totals 4 birds in the family now! All have been DNA sexed except for Dinky. Dinky is quite small compared to Sammy, but both birds like each other; Sammy is so territorial, however, that they can't share the same cage. Dink likes him, anyway. When I take him away from his avian friends he hollers over & over to be back where he can see them. Kiko was a victim of zinc poisoning in 2003 & almost died. She underwent extensive treatment from the vet for a long time. After this bout with illness, she was left alone in the house during a hurricane after the family evacuated. She was so upset that she pulled all her feathers out. As you can see in the picture, they are growing back in. We don't know if her coat will return to normal or have scarring. Only time will tell. Right now she has down over the naked areas; I call it her "fur coat". Both birds are very sweet, but all three of the new additions to the family have problems. Dinky is teeny tiny but easy to handle; however, he prefers his cage & buddies to humans. Sammy bites & likes to talk to Dinky but he doesn't want him in his own cage. I think it's because he's terrified of just about everything. He was in a pet shop for three years & little kids poked their fingers at him through the cage bars. So he's afraid of hands & he bites hard! He doesn't play with any of his toys, but since Dinky's been around I've seen him ringing a bell in his cage. Kiko is a real sweet bird but doesn't want to interact with the other birds & doesn't play with her toys, either. All she wants to do is be with me. She has separation anxiety & will sometimes bite me when I try to take her off of my shoulder. Otherwise, she stands there & coos in my ear. One could easily fall in love with this bird. Kiko has some neuroses: she gets in the bottom of her cage & runs from one side to the other continuously. She also weaves back & forth wherever she's perched. This is obsessive-compulsive behaviour & is hard to stop. Hopefully, being around the other birds will distract her from always wanting to do this. She observes BoBo closely & has actually shown signs of play just recently in her cage. So, there is hope. Kiko lost 18 grams of weight since her last weigh-in at the vet's office in Feb. 2005. That's a lot of weight lost, especially since she's supposed to be between about 250 and 290 grams! Right now she weighs 216 grams & this is cause for concern. So, I'm trying to get weight on her ASAP. She seems healthy enough, however. Dinky & her passed the vet check with flying colors on Wednesday of last week. Sammy had an infection so he was put on antibiotics. He's okay now & everybody's happy.
In the pictures below you will see Kiko, then two pictures of Dinky.
Have a beautiful day!
Cindi & Sally |
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