New Purchases!

[Cage Cleaner]

Through posting here, Glassonion referred me to a wonderful site: www.mysafebirdstore.com

This is really an excellent site. The prices are unbeatable, and if you order $100.00 you get free shipping. And, as first time customers, you get 10% off with coupon code FIRST. You can also type in FACEBOOK or PARROTCRAZY, as I've seen from Googling to get the 10% off after your first order. So, the already unbeatable prices are even more unbeatable.

I ordered on Thursday, got my order by parcel post (because UPS doesn't ship to PO BOX, which I discussed with the owner of the site I got an email INSTANTLY after submitting my order), on Tuesday. That's pretty good, in my book.

Then, not only was the shipping fast, but everything was individually wrapped in tissue paper, and in separate bags, and in nice ribbon. In -HOT Pink- tissue papper with bright green ribbon. I loved it. There was also a hand-written thank you note as well as some small extra toy parts. Some finger traps stuffed with shredded, scrunched paper, and some cute toy parts that would suffice as foot toys on their own, or put together for a hanging toy.

But, onto the most important part: The Products:

Harrison's High Potency Fine 5 lb: This is what I already feed my birds. The bag was listed for $26.79, which was way cheaper than anywhere else I've been able to find it. Took a short while to convert for the GCC and almost immediately for the Sun Conure, but it is what they pick out of their food bowl first now, over the Totally Organics Pellets(TOPS) and definitely over the Zupreem FruitBlend. It's organic and it apparently has a great taste, as well as a great reputation and a track record of healthy birds. It is also supplemented, unlike the TOPS.

Totally Organics Crumplets: This is a new product for smaller birds. I haven't opened this yet; more to come later when I do. I bought it because the Totally Organics Pellets can sometimes be bit large, and my birds tend to take a bite or two out and throw the rest on the floor. It's a lot of waste, and it's a shame because it's also such a good product. So I'll write more about how I feel about the crumplet's size later when I open it.

Reinforcement Foraging Wheel by Creative Foraging: Good quality materials, birds haven't had a chance to figure out how the wheel turns yet. More on this as they do. I got 10% off on this in addition to the 10% off on the whole order because the site had a special where you get 10% off on your second Creative Foraging toy.

Hanging Buffet Ball Kabob by Creative Foraging: Again, good quality materials, but was a bit larger than I had expected upon ordering. I had originally hoped that the Zupreem fruit blend would sit in it fine without coming out of the holes, but it looks like I'll have to order something larger next time for this toy. Perhaps Harrison's Coarse. So, for now, I'll have to get creative with what I put into it. The stainless steel kabob is excellent, probably worth the $17.00 I paid for it on its own and it looks like it would survive the rest of -my- life.

Aviator Harness, X-Small, in Black: This wasn't what I expected. From pictures on the forum here and elsewhere, I was expecting the leash part of the harness to be the same material was the harness part of the harness. That means, the thick, flat, shiny matieral that says AVIATOR on it. Instead, the harness part is still said material, however, for the leash, it is burned into this -very- thin elastic string, something that looks as if my Sun Conure could chew through in two seconds. I'm... hesitant about this product. I would have much preferred the thick flat material because it looks much more chew resistant, an therefore, as the company claims, "escape proof". It doesn't matter if the harness is escape proof, if she's going to break the leash and fly off with the rest of the harness anyway. I'll post pictures sometime showing what I mean. I get that the elastic is supposed to be easier on them if they take off, but it really doesn't seem very hardy.

Lixit Bottle, 16 oz, 7/16" tube: Uhm it's not "easy to install", at least not at first glance. It's not difficult, but it's not something you just pop onto the cage, either. You need tools. The bottle also doesn't fit very well, as the metal backbone part is a bit too short for it, curving forward before the end of the bottle. When the bottle is in, it is wedged in tightly due to this design, since it pushes it out toward the metal bar that comes down and locks into it. I'm not sure if that's the point or not, as it does make the bottle immovable, but it doesn't seem to be good quality design. To me it seems to be a lot of potential energy waiting to launch the bottle across the room if the metal bar holding it in place snaps from the pressure. The glass bottle itself is great, and I like how it would be impossible for the bird to remove from the cage, once the hardware is installed. There is a locking mechanism that prevents that from happening. I'm not sure how I would clean the tube at this point. Again, pictures later.

All that for $112.72. Really, that's a steal. I'm not sure the company made any money, because the shipping itself was 20 dollars. Also, Glassonion got $10.00 in store credit for the referral, too.

[Michael]

Aviator Harness, X-Small, in Black: This wasn't what I expected. From pictures on the forum here and elsewhere, I was expecting the leash part of the harness to be the same material was the harness part of the harness. That means, the thick, flat, shiny matieral that says AVIATOR on it. Instead, the harness part is still said material, however, for the leash, it is burned into this -very- thin elastic string, something that looks as if my Sun Conure could chew through in two seconds. I'm... hesitant about this product. I would have much preferred the thick flat material because it looks much more chew resistant, an therefore, as the company claims, "escape proof". It doesn't matter if the harness is escape proof, if she's going to break the leash and fly off with the rest of the harness anyway. I'll post pictures sometime showing what I mean. I get that the elastic is supposed to be easier on them if they take off, but it really doesn't seem very hardy.

The parrot can't chew the bungee cord. The harness material extends for 12-18 inches below the parrot and turns into the leash bungee. In use, this is not a problem at all. I've had my harnesses over 2 years and though chewed up, they still hold up with active use.

[cml]

Aviator Harness, X-Small, in Black: This wasn't what I expected. From pictures on the forum here and elsewhere, I was expecting the leash part of the harness to be the same material was the harness part of the harness. That means, the thick, flat, shiny matieral that says AVIATOR on it. Instead, the harness part is still said material, however, for the leash, it is burned into this -very- thin elastic string, something that looks as if my Sun Conure could chew through in two seconds. I'm... hesitant about this product. I would have much preferred the thick flat material because it looks much more chew resistant, an therefore, as the company claims, "escape proof". It doesn't matter if the harness is escape proof, if she's going to break the leash and fly off with the rest of the harness anyway. I'll post pictures sometime showing what I mean. I get that the elastic is supposed to be easier on them if they take off, but it really doesn't seem very hardy.

The parrot can't chew the bungee cord. The harness material extends for 12-18 inches below the parrot and turns into the leash bungee. In use, this is not a problem at all. I've had my harnesses over 2 years and though chewed up, they still hold up with active use.

I like it as well, but Stitch is a little more hesitant towards it .

[Cage Cleaner]

Ok, good to know. Any comments on the Lixit bottle? I know you use the same brand and model?

[Michael]

Lixit Bottle, 16 oz, 7/16" tube: Uhm it's not "easy to install", at least not at first glance. It's not difficult, but it's not something you just pop onto the cage, either. You need tools. The bottle also doesn't fit very well, as the metal backbone part is a bit too short for it, curving forward before the end of the bottle. When the bottle is in, it is wedged in tightly due to this design, since it pushes it out toward the metal bar that comes down and locks into it. I'm not sure if that's the point or not, as it does make the bottle immovable, but it doesn't seem to be good quality design. To me it seems to be a lot of potential energy waiting to launch the bottle across the room if the metal bar holding it in place snaps from the pressure. The glass bottle itself is great, and I like how it would be impossible for the bird to remove from the cage, once the hardware is installed. There is a locking mechanism that prevents that from happening. I'm not sure how I would clean the tube at this point. Again, pictures later.

A parrot comes with its own toolset as well. Just be thankful that it doesn't have a wrench or opposable thumbs! The metal bar holding the bottle in has never failed me. It's stiff at first and difficult to press in to open but eventually becomes easier. There isn't that much pressure on it. Most of the pressure presses down so I wouldn't worry about that failing.

As for cleaning, there are several great ways of doing it. I rinse and replace water daily. I wash with soap every other day. I just put a drop of soap in the bottle and then pour out into the tube from both ends. Then I bought a baby bottle cleaner with accessory mini brush built on the handle. Use the big end for the bottle, little end for the tube from both ends. Then about once a month I pour boiling water into the bottles and submerge the tube/stoppers in a bowl of boiling water to sterilize completely in case anything is getting missed during normal cleanings. Of course if you wanna be extra safe you can do this process more frequently or boil in a pot of water. Just remember to never pour cold water on an empty just boiled bottle (did it once and it cracked in half). Instead, pour cold water over the bottle with boiling water inside. As long as there is water in side the bottle, pouring cold water on it to cool won't crack it.

It's a marvelous design and aside from the initial learning curve on using it, works flawlessly. The tubes/balls do start to leak over time which can be noted by greater amounts of water getting used up than normal. This seems to be less of an issue on the smaller bottles than the bigger (or Truman is just too rough with it).

[GlassOnion]

Great review!

I love my Aviator Harness, it's really awesome!

[Cage Cleaner]

Ok. Sounds good. I wasn't sure if mine was defected or not, but it seems like that is just the point of the design. Thanks.

Also, as of right now, my GCC has learned how to use the foraging wheel. I put it in at time of posting. He hasn't figured out that he can turn clockwise yet, though. Or that he doesn't have to tunnel vision onto one part of the wheel and keep turning until the hole comes around again, heh. He also seems to enjoy tossing out all the Zupreem pellets, emptying the entire cell, instead of eating them. Oh well.

[Cage Cleaner]

I left the aviator on my Sun's cage for 30 minutes and I came back, and she already chewed half of the part where the harness curls around buckle off. It seems still in tact and strong enough to use, but the frayed part is would now be against her skin if I were to put it on her.

Should I try burning it or cutting it off?

Also, those foraging toys are amazing. Both of them are glued to them now, almost all day. I ended up shoving ripped up toilet paper in there to minimize the waste.

[Michael]

I left the aviator on my Sun's cage for 30 minutes and I came back, and she already chewed half of the part where the harness curls around buckle off.

Why would you do that???

[Cage Cleaner]

Visual desensitization, yo. And because the video says to.