Hello and Request for Help :)

[Pajarita]

Ahhh, yes, I think that allowing him to burrow inside our shirt will do wonders for your relationship! That was the way I won Boca's heart (I think I already told you this). I normally do not wear a bra in the house but, when I first got him, I got myself one of those that are super padded (the ones that make you look as if you had a bigger cup) because he was also quite nippy when he first started but he did calm down and, eventually, ended up just taking a nap in there.

And yes, try putting entertaining stuff on the outside of his cage. I don't usually buy toys but there is a line of them made exclusively of paper, cardboard and some balsa wood that even the birds that never play with toys liked. I got them about 2 weeks ago and threw away the label so I don't have the brand at hand to give you but I am going to my supplier this Saturday and I'll look it up for you.

[mikella]

I need to search back about Boca - I know you've told me about him before.

Quigley wouldn't stay long in my shirt the other day, but today he's been in for a long time, coooooonstantly squeezing/skittling around up and down my back. He jams himself SO tight in spots near my sleeves etc. I can hear him clicking/munching every few seconds. I'm afraid to see all the holes he's making haha I'm happy we're starting a new pastime. The nips though Yoooouuuuch!!!

I wrote my last exam today, finally, so I got my mom to come over again and sit with Quigley for a couple hours. She fed him mango. (She doesn't take him out, just sits and chats with him to break up the time when I'm gone). Unprompted, she said his beak looks better. That was good to hear.

So he's out now and I checked and he devoured my waist band hahaha not so bad on my hoodie or sweater. He makes quick work tho, little bugger!

And yes, that would be great - either the brand or a pic of one of those toys. I have some things for him that sound similar but he doesn't touch them. I'm really interested to see how things go when we re-do his cage this weekend.

[Pajarita]

I am going tomorrow. This is the headquarters of a bird food manufacturer and wholesale distributor so they allow retail customers as a very special courtesy on Saturdays from 8 am to 12 pm and then only the people they know (you have to come with somebody that is already a customer in order to be introduced), buy in large quantities and 'behave' (the owner actually throws out the ones he doesn't approve of ). I've been buying from him for many years and have never had a single problem (quite the contrary, he gives me not only super special prices but also a small gift here and there) but he has a terrible temper!

[mikella]

Hahaha You're one of the chosen ones! Do you go each week? I wish we had some interesting places around here for birds - there's the typical pet stores, which I reallllly dislike (and that have limited bird stuff anyways), and one store in someone's basement in an area semi-nearby. I can choose from their website though and they can order the stuff if they don't have it in stock, which is nice. Though I have to admit, I haven't found much. I like to see something in person - you know? Everything looks good online - and doesn't often compare in 'real life.'

[Pajarita]

Well, I don't know about been one of the 'chosen ones'... I think he appreciates the fact that I love birds (he always says he likes birds more than he likes people and, in my opinion, he has proven it over and over -he has taken in birds in bad shape as payment for merchandise, he gave me a pair of Lizzard canaries because they were getting old and he did not want to breed the hen any more, he supports rescues, etc) and that I have NEVER, EVER complained about anything, ask for a discount or wasted his time -he hates that, too!- in all the years I've been going there (15?). People seem to forget that he doesn't have to open on the weekend for retail customers and that he is actually doing us a favor by selling to us at wholesale prices. I go there about once a month, usually, because I don't like to store seed for longer than that. And, if you like to see stuff in person, this is the place! He sells out of a smallish area he separated from his warehouse but he also has four LARGE rooms with cages, toys, perches, nests, supplements, etc. etc. etc. He must have, literally, thousands and thousands of all different items in there.

[mikella]

Wow, sounds like quite the man/business/place! Does he have a website he sells from? Or strictly sells to other co's that resell?

Random update chat...

Little update on "Mr. friggin' Man" as hubby affectionately calls him (he said he's now the man of the house haha). He is as in love as ever with husband. Today so far has been pretty good, in my eyes, for me and him. He's only been out with me an hour tho (and actually right now is in his room with the door pulled shut because he gave me a solid PINCH on my ring finger, right on the pad)... But he seems like he's in an ok mood. He's never HIGH ON LIFE like he gets with hubby, but today so far he's seemed upbeat and hasn't had a hate on for me, despite the bites. That is known to change throughout the day though - he has massive mood swings with me. Hands still a no, sometimes me in general is a big no, sometimes me even talking to him is a NO (sounds kind of funny, but true... ugh).

So far no action in the cage as far as checking it out any more. I rearranged, swapped out two rope perches for branches, put paper clipped in there for him to shred, etc etc. No luck yet, but I do think it is better than it was before. And I'm going to continue as I find things and think of things for in there. He just pays NO attention to anything in there. I have a couple more ideas that I will do, and I need to finish what's on the sides/top.

I uncover him between 5 and 5:10 (sometimes 4:30 or before if I'm up - does that mess things up? There is a slight amount of artificial light that comes in, but the sky is already starting to lighten a touch... Thoughts?), and he screams from just before 6 until 7:30 after my husband leaves. Then once he knows he's gone he'll sometimes be quiet for me for a little while.

He'll go in my sweater now but it's certainly not the same as with hubby. With hubby, it is PURE JOY for him and he's all around like a monkey, peeping, etc. (although he will nap in there too on the weekends). With me, he doesn't usually stay in long, and it's just not the same for him. I just wish he got more enjoyment out of ANYTHING with me - it makes me feel bad that all he does is basically pass time until my husband gets home. And he pines pines pines...... Some days are so intense.

He just had a mood swing and has decided I'm irritating him.

Wondering some things....
Are toothpicks ok..? He loves holding them and chewing them up....
Egg shells from boiled egg? He snuck a piece one time (freshly boiled and peeled, on paper on the counter and he SWIPED it) and he peeped away crumbling it (and likely eating it).... I know calcium is important for them - but I really need to know the full deal on this. I won't let him have any otherwise. They are not organic eggs, but they are boiled shells. I would switch to organic if they are actually good for him to munch on.

He was just chewing on a toothpick and he dropped it and I passed it to him and he SWIPED it away, then the next time it dropped I passed it to him and he went for my hand. He tends to do this. I have to really watch handing him things. He is not often gentle about anything with me. SOMETIMES he will step up on my arm gently which is so nice......... There is a sweet birdy boy in there.....

He's lunging at my hair a lot which I REALLY don't like. And when he's on my forearm, lunging at my upper arm. If only I knew what was going on in his head.

He's on a semi-strike with his food. Carrots are now a no, corn is a 'sometimes.' So this morning I mixed in cooked assorted veggies (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower this time), reeeeally fine crumbles that mixed in with his grain. He only tends to like soft for the most part, so I'm sticking with cooked for now. Sometimes he will try raw if we're making supper. He has tried raw carrot in the past and liked it a few times, but then rejected it. I'm interested to see how today's food goes come tonight. He's doing well with the grains though - even better. Lately he's been eating almost all the grains by supper time. I make a batch a week and freeze it, and this week when I make it, I'm going to add the barley, lentils, and (bigger) beans back in and see if he'll try those. This week's was: brown rice, mix of wild rices, quinoa, amaranth, millet, steel cut oats, wheat kernels, mung beans (certified organic except for oats, wheat, and mung beans - this ok?).

Pajarita - Do you cook the grains separately? I've been experimenting cooking them diff combos in diff pots and this last time I made it all in one little pot. It's tricky because some need more/less cooking. The brown rice was more cooked than I'd like this time, but he ate it which is the most important thing I guess.


Be back soon.

[Wolf]

It really won't hurt anything if you overcook it sometimes, but you need to start adding vegetables in the grain mix.

[mikella]

There's always veggies in with the grain mix, Wolf.

We discussed that not long ago - maybe a page or two back. I've always had veggies in it - but he will only eat carrot (occasionally) and corn. Was told to stick to corn and carrot until he eats those - but thought I'd try something different for today's food since he stopped eating the carrot altogether. I've listed the things we've tried and the different ways of preparing I've tried before (different colours/types of peppers, green beans, peas, different coloured carrots, kale, other leafy stuff, etcetc... pure rejection thus far haha). He eats sweet potato and squash 'when he feels like it,' so I give him that when he's out with me or sometimes in his bowl. I have better luck with that if given while out of his cage.

[Pajarita]

Mikella, they all take a looooong time to eat a large variety of produce. All of them! As long as he is eating carrots, squash, sweetpotatoes, corn, etc, some fruits and some greens (try adding chopped broccoli to his gloop -all my birds eat it, even the budgies and the tiels) a couple of times a week, he is doing fine for now - and he will get better. What you can do is concentrate on the fruit/veggie with the best overall nutrition and that's always the purple, blue, red and orange ones so whatever you can find in those colors, give him some (blueberries, purple carrots, pomegranate seeds, blackberries, strawberries, watermelon, etc).

[mikella]

I get you! I'm not complaining about the way he's eating (obviously I'd love him to eat everything though!), just wrote an update on how he was eating the past little bit and what I did this morning for his food and Wolf said I needed to add veggies (which I always do), so I was just replying to Wolf.

Like I said, this morning I mixed in about a tbsp of TEENIE crumbles of broccoli, plus cauliflower/carrot. Interested to see how he does with it by suppertime. He stopped eating the carrots - maybe he was bored with them haha So thought I'd try broccoli like this (also added bigger pieces to see what he does).

I've tried and tried and will keep trying (obviously). He always gets different fruits each day (he likes and will eat several) and is offered diff veggies everyday - eventually he'll catch on. He's not doing too bad for now I don't think.

Pajarita (or Wolf) - Would you mind reading through my last post (the long one)? I asked a couple questions. Tx!