Rainbow, Myrtle & Cockatiels

[liz]

It has cooled enough now 80s during the day and 70s at night that I can open windows. The cockatiels all jammed on the window ledge and tree branches in the window. Rambo has said hello to anything going by including Squeakie the cat. In the afternoon Rambo and Myrtle started their contact calls of "hello" and "yoohoo".

The first time I saw Rambo was through a window. I thought a child had been closed in while it's parents went to work. Yes it was nibby of me but if I think something is wrong I will check it out even if it means looking through window. I came face to face with Rambo who said "yellooooo".

I wonder what my new neighbors are thinking now that the windows are open.

If I have to leave I close those windows. I have been reading about thieves taking birds on facebook. While I am home, Rambo is my guard bird and tells me what is going on outside. No one can take them while I am home but I am considering bars for the windows.

[Wolf]

Have you considered guardian type plants for under and around windows on the outside? By guardian type plants, I am speaking of those plants with thorns, sharp points and such. They are unpleasant to come into contact with and have been used as a deterrent to breaking and entering in many places for a long time.

[liz]

I am still working on my land scaping. I have considered it. My aunt would never open her window at night for fear someone would come through it and get her. I planted holly bushes under the window. The stubborn old woman still did not open her window.

[Wolf]

Holly is good as are sword plants and there is a thorny bush which I don't recall the name of that grows so dense that it will turn cattle aside. It has very long sharp thorns and is the reason that cowboys wore chaps.

[Pajarita]

Does buckthorn ring a bell, Wolf?

[liz]

I have little feathers everywhere. I am amazed how those little fluffy things can move through the house. Tweet started first but now has his flight feathers back. Gimpy can fly now. I love to watch him fly but he forgets he can't perch with the others. I have one platform set up and will have to put little shelves around the room. His flight is a little off because his weight is not balanced with just one leg but he is loosing some of his fear now that he can fly.


It is hormonal season. Cockatiels are really noisy while having sex. I don't know who it is or how many because they stop like "I didn't do anything" when I go to check. I chose a good room for them. It gets more heat than my room (it is also much bigger). I am considering a humidifier for the winter. The air gets drier when the furnace is on. What do you think about a humidifier?

The yellow and gray chickens are doing well. When I change their food tray from one meal to the other, even though they have leftover, the cockatiels converge on it like a flock of chickens. Lola lands on me when I go in the door. If Phoenix is not already at the tray then he is on his way when he hears me coming. Tommy flies to me then to the tray. I love all these little personalities. No 2 are alike. Tweet, Flutter, Gimpy and Lacy are the only ones who have not ever come to me but that is alright. The only thing I ever wanted from my Birdy Babies is for them to be happy. Their contacts and conversations with me are just the extra perks they have given me.

One of these days I am going to sit down with a list of their names and add discriptions of each so I can identify them quickly. With so many that look similar it is not easy. I am beginning to think that Andy is the one who is courting Maggie. They have not mated but she seems to accept him as a friend.

Rambo and Myrtle have been dropping some feathers too. I was starting to worry about Rambo staying in his room so much so I set up another big cage, with one panel out so it is not really a cage just a structure, at the other end of the dining room table from Myrtle. He seems to like getting handouts from our plates again. Yesterday was his first day and he liked it so I expect him to add to the kaos of the house again.
He did ask for help to get back to the other cage for "nite nite". He has a little night cage on top of it that leads into a cardboard box (or what used to be a box).

Even with my furry babies my life seems so much brighter with the happy birds in my house. How did I survive without them?

My males have been singing in the middle of the night. It makes no scense to me that a prey animal with no defense and can not see in the dark would sing and give out his location. I guess they have lost some of their instincts over the years of being companion birds.

Myrtle would still rather "baby blabber" instead of human words though she does have a human vocabulary. She understands most of what I say. She learned dog commands first. She learned "hang on" while I was bringing her home for the first time. I was giving her warning that I was going to make a turn. She then added "stay" to what she knew. She now stays on my shoulder when I go in the cockatiel room. She wants to be near the "Birdy Babies."

I had a rough day in Gainesville VA Hospital with 4 hours of pre op. (surgery was canceled as of yesterday. One of the young Urologists came up with an idea of what is in my bladder and decided that I was safe and should be seen again in 3 months to make sure it does not grow.)
The next day I did not want to get out of bed and stayed in until 9 am. At the stroke of 9 Rambo yelled "HELLOOOOOOO" which triggered Myrtle then the Cockatiels as well as Jake the boxer from outside. 9 am is feeding time and they were all complaining.

[Wolf]

Sorry about your rough time at the VA hospital, hope that you are going to be ok.

[liz]

I got some good news. A young Urologist called me because he thinks he knows what it is and it is something that won't hurt me. He is going to bring me back in 3 month from now to check it again.
I complain about the VA keeping me in "military order" but if I did not have them I would be long gone. I cannot afford to have Lupus. It is just too expensive but my 2 years of service have paid that my treatments and perscriptions are free.

One of my cockatiels is loosing some feathers around it's eyes. None of the others have lost feathers there and he going with the flow in the flock. I would not have noticed it but he looks different from the others. Is it just the way that bird is molting or is it something I should seek treatment for? There is no aggression in my flock so I know that another has not pulled the feathers out.

[Wolf]

Unfortunately, Liz, there is no way that we can tell without pictures of the bird. Wish we could.

[Pajarita]

So sorry about health troubles! At least you have the VA to take care of you...

I don't know why your birds are out of whack with the seasons though... We are less than 2 weeks from the shortest day of the year so they should not be molting or hormonal. I think they are getting light during the night (the singing would only make sense if this was happening).