Pajarita's update

[Navre]

I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your birds, Bea.
I know you love all the birds, but the quakers hold a special place in your heart.

[Pajarita]

Thank you, John! Believe it or not, I get a knot in my throat and my eyes fill up with tears every single morning and every single evening from missing my beloved Keku. I don't miss poor little Jauncey too much because I had never actually interacted with him as he was still in quarantine when he got sick and died but I had waited years for a lutino quaker and I mourn all birdies that die… But Keku… Oh, Keku was so very special to me! I miss her all the time because she used interact with me constantly during the day... she would come out of her cage for our good morning kisses and put her little beak through the bars of her cage to kiss me good night, she would 'nest' in my cuped left hand when I was sitting at the computer forcing me to type with only one hand - and take a nap on my lap when I was playing solitaire - and a million other things. My husband wanted to go out and buy me one the same day she died because he knew I would be devastated but you know I don't 'buy' and, besides, I needed to make sure I did not have an epidemic in my hands. Thankfully, everybirdy is doing just fine and, eventually, I will find another quaker but it will never replace my Keku.

[Pajarita]

I apologize for not making my usual posts today but it's a real complicated day. I always go to the supermarket on Tuesday and I had to go to four different ones today to finish getting my supplies to make more gloop because I couldn't find Kamut anywhere (I finally found small bags of $4.00 each at Whole Foods so I got four of them) and my last batch had been without butternut squash -something that the bird love and which is very healthy for them- so I really wanted to find some today (again, found it at Whole Foods also at $4.00 each and I needed four of them!). It's also a beautiful day today and I need to plant in my garden -we've been having bad weather on and off for days and days.
But, the BEST news is the big surprise I got yesterday when my husband gave me my belated Mothers Day gift. I had not gotten anything from him but things have been so chaotic what with the quarantine and such that I did not pay say anything although I thought it strange because my husband is always very generous with me. So, yesterday, he says we need to go somewhere to pick it up -which I thought was REAL strange because why would he need me to be there when he goes to pick up something that he had, most likely, ordered from a store? Well, was I on for a BIG surprise! He had asked my US daughter to help him get it and she had finally found the perfect gift: a pair of quakers!!!!!!!! My daughter found what the lady said to be a male/female pair of very young quakers (less than one year old if one is to believe the lady) and they had arranged the pick up but they did not want to get them without my seeing them first - just in case I did not like them (as if that was possible!).

One is a turquoise just like my beloved Keku and the other is a gorgeous green pallid opaline! I had never seen a quaker like this one - I didn't even know how the mutation was called or that it existed! The lady said she was told that the turquoise was the male but I think it's the other way around, the turquoise is the female and the pallid green is the male because its head is bigger, the body is thicker and it's the non-dominant of the two. We'll see. One thing I can tell you, they are not completely unfriendly to people but they are not affectionate like my Keku but this is, most likely, because they have been together since babies. And I don't care - I got up this morning and about an hour later they were vocalizing and my heart filled up with joy! I so love to hear their CRRRREEEEEE CRRREEEEEE CRRRREEEEE... I go back to my childhood and my country of birth every time I hear them.

Picture to come soon!

[Navre]

I’m so happy for you. Lucky are the birds who find you.

[Pajarita]

Thank you, John. You always have kind words for me and I really appreciate that. I was so very surprised by this gift because my husband is the one always saying: "No more animals! This is a family house, NOT a shelter!" But I guess he saw how much I cried over Keku and he really hates it when I am unhappy... mostly because I have brainwashed my entire family with something that I learned from an older friend: "If momma ain't happy - there ain't nobody happy!"

Here they are: First picture is both of them together, second picture is Turquí (pronounced Toor KEY), third is Zeze (pronounced Zeh Zeh - the name is the nickname of the young, poor boy, protagonist of the book 'Meu pe de laranja lima' (My plant of orange-lime) by Brazilian author Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos), fourth is both of them together again after they had a bath in their water bowl this morning. They are eating well. They went straight for the corn on the cob they got this morning and they also ate some of the gloop so we are on our way to a good diet (they had only seeds and not even vitamins in their previous home - tsk tsk). Not that I had any concerns because quakers are such good eaters - and bathers - and fliers! Only they are clipped and unilaterally to make things worse. No matter, they will molt this summer and regain two of their clipped primaries which will be more than enough for them to fly. For now, they are quarantined in their cage but I checked them THOROUGHLY and they seem healthy to me: a bit too fat but very active, good appetite, good poop, etc. I am going to put them on vitamins daily for two weeks and on antibiotics for another two after that - just to make sure there is no deficiency and/or bacterial infection.

[Chai]

What lovely little birds! Congratulations

[Pajarita]

Thank you, Chai! They are lovely... they will never replace my Keku because she was VERY special but their vocalizations and antics (they are naughty things! ) do soothe my aching heart.

[Pajarita]

Just a quick one to let you know how Turqui and Zeze Quaker are doing. They are doing well BUT these birds were supposedly given up because the lady wanted a plain green quaker, same as she had for 20 years (bird died young and no surprise there given the diet it got) but I seriously doubt this is the truth because these birds are completely unsocialized. Forget about giving kisses, cuddling to people or talking - I seriously doubt this will ever happen. And they are not aggressive but they do not step up to a hand or a stick and, although not terrified of people, they are VERY wary of them. They were also never allowed to fledge correctly because even when they flap their wings, there is no real 'push' to it.

But they are GREAT eaters (like all quakers, they LOVE their leafy greens, fruits and veggies and eat gloop without a problem), they bathe by themselves and they love one another so they will never be lonely even if they don't bond with me - which is fine. They are learning to trust me -slow going when you have a bonded pair because you can't use their intense need for companionship to incentivize them- but it will happen. They are out of quarantine and are coming out of their cage every day. We started with only before breakfasts but they are now coming out until 2:30 pm, just like the other birds. Zeze is already almost completely OK with climbing on my hand covered with a kitchen towel when she is on the floor (all I have to do is very lightly touch the end of her tail to make her take a step forward while keeping my hand out flat in front of her), Turqui, not so much (I have to kind of corner him on the floor and put my other hand almost touching his back). She also takes seeds from my hand without trying to bite -Turqui, not so much . They spend most of their time on top of their cage and the other two cages that are placed in front of the bay window (Isis' and Codee and Annie's) but they also like to walk around - during which time I have to closely monitor them because Zeze would run out to make the other birds on the floor leave 'her' territory, which is OK because they all fly away, but the zons don't fly up and, being on breeding season, will go after her if they are in the same spot - thus, the need for close supervision. But so far, so good.

[Pajarita]

Just a quick update because Sundays is my day of 'rest' (I don't do research and I don't cook ).

Lots of good news! The quakers are doing FABULOUSLY! They are great eaters and have EPIC baths every morning in their bowl (both of them want to get in at the same time ). They are learning how to fly - Zeze is much more daring than Turqui and even though she still has quite a number of feathers clipped (they had clipped all the primaries AND the secondaries but she has regained three of the primaries), she is getting better at it - she still crashes a bit but she now flies even into the kitchen and can maintain vertical flight for 15 ft. They are also (and no surprise here!) INCREDIBLY smart! They learn how to eat something new in one single lesson (like sugar snaps that need to be opened to reach the little peas inside) and have not only learned to go inside their cage when I tell them to "Go Home!" but also to climb on my hand (well, not really my hand, I need to cover it with a kitchen towel) when I tell them "Come on".

But the real news are Epuish Caique who started taking baths on his own! His previous owner said that he would only bathe when he got into the shower on her shoulder and that he did not like sprays - and she was right about that, he does NOT like it. But he is now bathing in his bowl and although he does not do a very good job of it, it is a great start!

And Isis, who had eaten only raw nuts, green beans and dried papaya for years in her previous home and was -very slowly and very gradually- enlarging the range of produce, has decided to throw her hat in and all of a sudden she started eating EVERYTHING!

Linus Too is doing good even though his plumage is a mess as it always is this time of the year (he will get much better after he molts - stay good for a couple of months and then start the process of breaking, barbering and plucking again). Precie and Zeus Zon made a hole in the door to the closet in the birdroom and she decided this was the best spot for a nest Sophie Gray is doing great as always. Javi Caique has finally made friends with Davy Redbelly who has been obsessed with him for months and months. Mami and Naida Zon are being a pain the neck about their nesting because they have decided that, this year, they do not want to nest in their cage so they have been roaming all over the floor of the living and dining room, running and ganging up to scare any other bird who dares to walk on them and chewing everything they can find so we have had to put cardboard boxes and wood boards all around the perimeters of both rooms (but they still managed to chew the phone AND the internet wires so now we have to cover them, too). Sweetpea and Zoey Senegal are doing good, as usual. And Annie GCC follows Epuish Caique all over the place, cuddling to his side as soon as they perch somewhere and allopreening in earnest. She still plucks but I do think she is getting a bit better. Codee GCC is just Codee - the same sweet, easy going, good eater, good bather, no issues, no problems super affectionate little bird she always is.

[Pajarita]

Have construction workers in the house remodeling the parrot room. Zeus and Precie Zon, Sophie Gray and Linus Too are in my dining room in cages. Not happy! Precie keeps on screaming: "TOO BAD TOO BAD TOO BAD!", Sophie climbs the top of her cage hanging upside down and Linus had to be let out because he would not stop screaming. Thankfully, he is on the top of his cage chewing on a box and hasn't moved from there.... yet!