Rainbow, Myrtle & Cockatiels

[liz]

The panties were just a joke but that would prevent fertile eggs.

They are all on the same foods. They get their softened grain in the morning with a plate of fruit and veggies cut to their size that the Amazons get. They are interested in all of it but most likely will just carry it around. If it is green they will eat it. They get Budgie seed for supper. They all seem to be eating on the mineral block.
They are all getting the same light. I have it on a timer that is set to 9am to 5pm. Should it be shortened?
Other than Tweet's hormones and Flutter's being a hound dog the flock is all normal.
I can't separate Tweet from Jackie. She still needs her mom. Jackie needs to be in the flock.
Lola was Jackie's bravery. Without Lola I have to work harder to keep Jackie connected to me. She watches Tommy come to me and give me kisses. She has let me steal a kiss at times.
Tweet is not social in any way. He still runs to the far side of the room when I go in.

Other than separating them do you have any ideas of what I can do? I am planning a gym and swing hanging from he ceiling that might distract them. I hope.

Last evening I was rewarded for my patients. I got zoom then Gimpy landed in the middle of the seed that I was putting down. He was the first to the seed which tells me he is accepting me as the giver of food at least.

[Pajarita]

Not all birds react the same way to the same stimuli, Liz, even when they are of the same species. Obviously, Tweety is a bit different from the other ones. It could be she is younger, it could be she is physically more fit, it could be she is eating more seeds than the other ones... I don't know what it is but she is always the one producing eggs, right? so something is going on with her that it's not going on with the others. And I don't like the fact that she is not producing a full clutch, either...

Personally, I never did like your method of soaking grains in hot water for a few hours in a thermal cup... I don't think it's as effective as it should be because the grains are merely soaked and not cooked. I might be wrong, I don't really know but, if it was my bird and I had ran out of options, I would try making a real gloop because it seems to me that they are more likely to eat veggies when they are mixed in the gloop than when they get them on a separate dish.

I am now turning off lights at 4 because they are getting their dinner at 6 pm (but I am going to start doing it at 5:30 pm by the end of next week).

[liz]

We have longer dawn and dusks here but I will adjust the lighting to match yours.

I use at least 4 grains at a time and add dehydrated peas, corn and carrots in the mixture that I put in a thermal cup with boiling water and let it soak overnight. I stir and rinse it before serving. These veggies mixed with the grain seem to work for them.

Sweetie was the leader of the group and adventurously tried everything I offered then taught the others to eat it. My other old Cockatiels, Shadow, Tommy and Tammy are not teachers so the fresh veggies are hard to introduce. I chop every morning for the Cockatiels and Amazons and for the horses at the same time using different size pieces for each species. The Cockatiels seem to be more interested in celery than the other fruit and veggies. I give them a 2 inch piece and the leaves. The leaves are their first choice but they move the piece of celery all over the room and take bites from the edges and then in. I know celery is not very nutritious but it also works as an enrichment since they actively eat and move it around. I cannot know who is eating the most of what foods. Tweet may be eating more of the high protein part of my offer. The fact that the bugs I am fighting are not found in there room makes me wonder if they include them as part of their food.

Because there are so many being fed at the same time I overfeed so there will be leftovers and I know they are getting enough. I do the same thing with the evening seed.

Rescuing birds and socializing them as I would a child has been really rewarding. One evening Gimpy buzzed me and then landed in the middle of the seed I was putting down.
Broken birds take much more work when rescued. I do not try to touch them so they make the first moves and Gimpy has made his first move. I don't think he will ever be cuddly but am still amazed that he treats me like an exceptional l part of his world and the giver of food. Now that he is able to fly he is much more relaxed with me.

[Pajarita]

I was thinking about you and Tweety last night and realized that I have never asked you what Ktemp your full spectrum light has because A LOT of them are higher than 5500 (I have seen some with 6500!) and, if that is the case with yours, it is possible that the light is the reason as the higher the Ktemp, the more it brings them into breeding condition.

[liz]

5500

Tweet is the only one trying to nest. Flutter is the only male acting up.

Maggie has been letting Andy stay with her. They have not mated that I know of. I know what it sound like and there is screen door on that room. I always check who it is.

[Pajarita]

Well, 5500 is the highest you can go so I would change the bulbs to lower Ktemp to see if that would help. I am turning on the lights at 9 am and off at 4 pm because I am now feeding them dinner at 5:30 to 5:45 pm.

[liz]

I have the bulbs in a lamp that stand up. One reflects off the ceiling and the other is aimed to the floor. I have a timer to turn it on and off. It is set at 9am but I will have to adjust the turn off time. Although the birds seem to like the light they still all bunch into the window sill.

My son is in the progress of adding hard ware cloth inside the screen so I can leave the widow open a lot more. He put it on the screen door of their room. They enjoy hanging on the door to see what I am doing. He is going to remove the screen to make it easier to hang on.

[liz]

I depend on my rose colored glasses but they don't help me from tripping over dogs and cats or hearing the Amazons call "hello" back an forth for an hours. I also get zoomed by Myrtle and Rambo climbs me. When I take time to lay on my bed and watch TV I am never alone. There are 3 dogs who stick to me, cats coming in for attention since I am doing nothing and now 2 Amazons. Of course when I am taking a break is when Rambo and Myrtle get the most talkative and even get into arguments to drown out the TV.

My Cockatiels are so happy all the time that their room is a refuge. They sing and tweet a lot and directly at me. I love them so much. Tweet is afraid of everything but once he came to me by hiding behind Jackie, his mother. (It is funny that Tweet is around 3 years old and still depends on his mother.)

[liz]

I am beginning to believe that Rambo is a service bird. I pinched the nerve in my lower back and do not get out of bed except for potty trips. Rambo is doing to me what he did to Momma when she was bed ridden. He has been climbing the side of my bed to get to me. Then he will walk through what other critters are on my bed and cuddle up against my neck. One or two times a day is precious but he is non stop. When Rachel takes him out of my bed he will take time to eat and drink then climb into my bed again. Yester day it was 8 times that Rachel had to take him away. His love is over whelming.
The only other critter that has done this was my Calicat. When I was sick she stuck to me like I was glued to her. The only time she left my side is when my Uncle Dom moved in with us to die. His bed was in my bedroom so Calicat spent most of her day with him. They would talk back and forth. She accepted that she was responsible for him and did not leave him except to eat or potty. Calicat was really vocal and even learned to say: Momma, no, milk and out. She was really dedicated to his care.
Myrtle has not been in my room at all for 3 days. I don't know what is up with her. She just does not come to me while I am bed ridden.

[liz]

Rachel has been caring for my Cockatiels too. They get really vocal when I am a little late getting their food to them at 9am and 5pm. They can tell time like the rest of the critters.