Puddle Jumping in DC

The Parrotlet & The Mirror, Part 1

So, Bug has a little mirror in her cage and I think she may be becoming too attached to it.

For the last couple of days, she's been "feeding" the mirror. She carries the larger seeds over to the mirror and props them up on the little wire (it's stainless) and eats them against the mirror. For the most part, she's eating the seeds herself but she appears to be trying to feed her reflection.

Snatching the mirror out seems mean but the more I think about it, the more I think that the mirror has to go. Bug is 3 months old and there are a couple other behaviors that may be precursers to nesting. She's gotten really agressive about her cage (not abnormal in 'lets) and she really likes to chew on and arrange her cage cover when she sits on the outside of the cage.

It's also possible that I'm hypersensative because we lost a 'tiel to complications of chronic egg laying and that I should not worry about this.

Possible plan of action: She's going to a bird sitter's this weekend. She'll ride over in her carrier. The mirror could "disappear" on the way over or on the way back. Hmm.

Bug's Diet - Vol 1, Issue 4

So, I bought a mini food chopper. It quickly shreds enough Bug veggies for about 3 days (which is about how long they last anyway). It makes the vegetables much smaller and a little wetter (or was that the grapes) which makes it stick to Bug's face much more - oh, so cute.

Right now, Bug gets a spoonful of vegetables mixed with a half scoop of pellets and a half scoop of seeds twice a day along with all day access dry pellets. I think it's still too much food. She'll eat the pellets (even dry) if I offer them too her out of the cage and certainly pulverizes the moist ones in her food dish but I can't tell if she's eating them.

(Just so you know, I decided years ago I never wanted a dog because they're too much trouble.)

Life Changes

So on Saturday mornings, I run. A friend and I signed up with a group that meets a the pentagon to train for marathons & half-marathons on Saturday mornings. Right now, we are meeting at 6am (ouch). I'm only doing the half mileage distance, so I'm done before 8. We don't run very fast, so we talk while we run.

This morning the discussion had many topics including how a small green bird(who's currently bathing in her water dish) that weighs less than an ounce can have a profound effect on your life; as can your boss when she calls and tells you she wants you out on the road covering the Kerry/Edwards campaign for the next three months, which apparently happened to my friend on Friday. She's taking it in stride (pun intended).

My life is also in flux. In two weeks I quit my job at PIRG, where I've worked since I graduated from college, to go back to school at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Hmm.

By the way, Bug's blood tests all came back fine.

Territorial Jays

We live in DC so the wildlife mostly consists of squirrels and sparrows.

This morning, I awoke to the sound of birds in distress outside my window. Poked my head around the curtain and saw a white flash - I'm thinking cat. I head for the backyard to have a look.

There's a blue jay hoping around under the picnic table and another 4-5 in the dead tree next door and they are agitated. I'm thinking the one on the ground is hurt (no sign of cat). But as I approach, he flies of to the dead tree with the others.

I wander back up to the deck and watch them.

One by one they move from the tree in the right neighbor's yard to the tree in the left neighbor's yard (we don't have anything taller than tomatoes) screaming the whole way. Then I see it - the possum.

Apparently, the flock of jays were pursuing him around the neighborhood. He was unimpressed.

From the wilds of DC . . . .

Veterinary Checkup Today

Well, Bug officially weighs in at 26 grams - less than one ounce.

The vet explained that they can't do all the tests that they would do on a larger parrot because they would require most of the bird's blood - she's a little bugger. They take a little blood for tests with no alternatives and then take toenail clippings and poop samples for the rest. Fun, fun, fun. With any luck, we won't have to go back for another year.

Things that are Evil

Things that are Evil - Volume 1
Bug's guide to scary household objects and a few not so scary things.

Things that are Evil:

The Measurex 29.6 - Bug's Advice: If The Measurex 29.6 gets too near the cage or, heaven forbid, enters the cage, mad flapping usually makes it go away. If flapping alone doesn't take care of it, fall off your perch.


Curtains - Bug's Advice: One afternoon of looking freaked out on top of your cage should get these tied back for you.


The Portable Telephone - Bug's Advice: The Portable Telephone makes harmless noises throughout the day. Don't worry about that. It is only dangerous if it comes near you. Luckily, hiding in Jen's hair provides sufficient protection from The Portable Telephone.


The 3001T Scale - Bug's Advice: If The 3001T ever comes in view, your only option is panic. Fly the other way without hesitation, even if you end up in the potted plant on the windowsill. The 3001T Scale is less dangerous when it's covered by a towel.

Things that aren't really as bad as you'd think:

Jen's Very Boisterous Husband - Bug's Advice: Jen's Very Boisterous Husband makes a lot of noise and frequently crashes into the room singing but if you can overlook that, you'll find he knows how to give head scratches.

Things that might be evil but we don't know yet:

The Bathtub and the Stuffed Parrot- Bug's Advice: I'll tell you when I decide what to do about these. In the mean time, drink from the bathtub quickly but do not bathe and eye the stuffed parrot suspiciously.

So what does your bird think is Evil?

Jen's note: I posted this same list in another a couple of online forums. If you are coming over forum Flight Feathers or Parrotalk you may have seen this. We have a well bird vet appointment on Saturday so, I'm sure there will be a volume two.

Bug's Diet (cont. cont.)

Still trying to coax the bird to eat vegetables. Could the food still be too big? I've chopped all the veggies about the size of a piece of corn or one of those little cubed frozen carrots. I just stumbled on a website of a woman who runs her parrotlets veggies through a food processor.

Bug has been eating out of the veggie bowl consistantly. She seems to prerfer the seeds from that bowl. I can't tell if she's eating much of anything else.

However, she demolishes fresh veggies stuck in her food clip . Carrots, apples and cherry tomato are all we've tried so far (so cute - she eats all the seeds and mush out of the tomato but leaves the skin). She get's excited about it and a little upset of we don't put anything in the clip. There is no carrot/apple/tomato debris below the clip (our keets used to just shred vegetables, lots of scraps left), so I think she's eating it.

Is it possible that the pieces of veggies in the bowl are still just to big to get a good grip without the help of a clip? Tommorow, I will dice the salad again before serving and monitor her progress.

How to play with toy!

Reach . . reach a little more . . . get a firm grip . . . . give it a good shake . . . and hang on tight with beak and a foot.

If necessary, follow with the "you forgot to turn off the flash again" stare.

Technology, it just gives you more ways to avoid working. :)

Still adjusting

Bug seems to have had a sort of breakthrough in the last couple of days (been a member of the family for 11 days now ). She's much more explorative, playful, and just plain bold.

She's playing with all the toys in her cage (just rang the bell for the first time) rather than just the mirror/abacus and preener. She's also being more assertive - coming out of her cage on her own but also biting both of us when we pick her up off or from within her cage . And, as long as we respect her bedtime routine of doing laps around the cage until she settles into her swing for the night (or letting the room darken gradually), we can cover the cage almost completely.

This morning, when my husband got up and had breakfast before me, she joined him by eating out of the pellet/seed mix which had no seeds left. When I got up and caught that, I stuck in a cup of beak appetite and pees with a few seeds sprinkled over it. She started by picking off the seeds but I just caught her with her head all the way in there.

She was also playing with a dried up slice of apple (in a clip) which we forgot to take out of the cage yesterday so I replaced it with a piece of carrot (we need to go to the grocery today). She's gnawing on it, not really eating it, but whatever.

Aww.

How long until we start working on her diet.

We've had Bug a little more than a week . According to the breeder, she was eating seeds, Zupreem & Roudybush pellets, fresh fruits & vegetables, and spray millet. No evidence of that kind of variety so far though. Since she was one of three in the clutch, I supposed that it's possible that she was the one eating all the seeds and leaving the health food to her brother & sister.
So for the first two days, she only ate millet spray.

On the third day (Saturday), I didn't put any millet in her cage and observed whether she would eat out of the food cups which contained a 70/30 mix of pellets/seed. She ate only the white millet seed from the mix.

A few days ago, I started adding one of those Lafaber peanut balls. It seems like a good bridge between seed and pellets and our cockatiel just loved them. She ignored the balls and continued picking out the white millet seed. As for fresh or cooked food, no interest yet. I've started putting a little bit of chopped up fresh fruit with a few millet seeds sprinkled on them in a separate cup when there's someone around to pull them out of there at lunch, but she doesn't eat it. Maybe if there is less seed overall, those seeds will be more appealing. She also doesn't eat the Beak Appetite, or the apple slices, or lettuce leaves, or anything else that the breeder says she liked.

After confirming with the breeder that the quantity of food she was consuming was adequate (she still gets millet spray treats but only little ones and only out of her cage), I started reducing the overall amount of food in hopes that she'd eat the pellets. So, she started eating the Lafaber balls.

She ate the entire Lafaber ball yesterday , but I don't think she's eating the pellets.

Generally, she starting to settle in. She plays with toys (the mirror with the abacus like beads and little leather preener especially). She slowly tolerating more and more cage cover. She seems to like our little cuddle/chat sessions . And finally, she is starting to exert her own will.

Yesterday, she came out of her cage on her own initiative for the first time and this morning she bit me for putting my hand in her cage , which I'm interpreting as her thinking the cage belongs to her. That's true, but we'll have to come to some sort of compromise on me servicing the food cups in her cage.