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If I remember right, a budgie's poops are about BB sized or smaller. Assuming a green cheek is similar enough to a Sun/Jenday conure that I can use my sibling's bird for comparison: about the size of a cashew, or a little smaller than a marble. It's a mix of green solids and white runny uric acid and other stuff, and will generally clean up similarly to budgie poo though it leaves more of a stain than the tiny budgie turds. You have to be careful to not smear it or rub it in, though. It's much easier to get it to stick to a paper towel or tissue and lift it off that way, or roll it onto another piece. Occasionally there will be a runny poo, and you should be resigned to those always being a mess. Thankfully, conures are usually really easy to potty train.
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Oct 27, 2012 04:13
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dopaMEAN posted:Also, what's the word on owning both cats and a bird? Is it crazy? I have both and it's really only manageable because I work from home and the birds live in my home office. Most mornings I turn them all loose and sit at my computer all day while they fly around the room and eat my window blinds. Sometimes I shut the cats in the bedroom and let one or two of them hang out in the kitchen while I wash dishes. I also let my parrotlet ride around the house on my shoulder while the cats are at large, but only because she considers me to be her safe spot and doesn't spook and fly elsewhere. During the day the cats are pretty lethargic and they don't really find her to be that interesting when there are tiny fluttering finches to watch. All of the bird cages are large and very heavy and sturdy so they can't be knocked over or otherwise compromised by cats. We do miss out on having the birds involved in most everyday aspects of household life, though.
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Oct 27, 2012 04:59
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Yeah conure poops are pretty easy to clean, unless you've been feeding them blueberries in which case hahahaha good luck.
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Oct 27, 2012 05:13
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Kenshin said we'd post pics of Zippy after we brought her home, but gently caress that. This is Zippy.  She likes beans, spicy peppers, and anything she can crack open and get seeds out of. She hasn't come home yet, but she has already filled my life and new house with bird toys and play areas, my sundays with cooking for her, and my free time with learning clicker training. This might bother some people, but I'm so happy. Clicker training isn't going very well so far. Probably because we see her only once a week and using sunflower seeds as a reward doesn't work well when that's her main source of food at the moment. That will change when she moves in with us, and I expect training to go better then.
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Oct 27, 2012 05:13
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On the topic of poops Marceline has learned to mimic her own pooping sound and does it whenever she wants me to pick her up and tell her to poop. This is neat but also really bad because sometimes I don't catch it and she just loving poops anyway. She's really good about throwing her butt over the side of something and pooping away from clothing though. (or flying back to a cage and doing it)
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Oct 27, 2012 06:23
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Some new pictures mixed with old ones! Ivanicus is a Hawk-headed parrot. These are also known as Red-Fan parrots, for the particular crest they have.  Hawkheads are known to talk, but they are also good immitators. Ivan doesn't speak very well (Up up, Hewo and a high pitched'woooow'), but I have known him to immitate a few of the local birds, microwaves, telephones, whistles and the like. When he is begging for juice he makes a sound that is remarkably similar to fast-dripping water. If Ivan is any indicator, they aren't the brightest creatures, so if you want a feathered Einstein I'd look elsewhere.  (Note: The image above is exactly when you don't want your fingers near him) Hawkheads are notorious for being vicious birds with very nasty temperments. They are medium-sized birds, so are easily 'handled' in that sense, but they are very prone to biting and screaming. I was foolish in choosing Ivan as my first parrot, but I love him so much that I wouldn't have it any other way.  Despite him giving me countless scars on my hands and fingers (as well as on my poor friends and family) he is a lovable goof who, in the end, wants nothing more than to eat strawberries and cuddle me at the end of the day. I should be more persistant with clicker-training, as it has helped immensely with Scream Training and Bite training. From what I've heard, Ivan is a very friendly Hawkhead, which says a lot about the average one.  He doesn't do any fancy tricks, but he will give me kisses when he wants to go back home. His favorite toys are wooden blocks, jingling bells, suede or leather binding, pinecones, sunflowers, corn and the little jingly cat toys. If it makes noise, Ivan will either love it or hate it. Either way it will be torn to pieces. He is potty-trained, in that he has specific areas he can poop (on newspaper, in or around cage, outside of the apartment on the grass/pavement). He does still revenge-poops, but that's the only time he poops where he is not allowed to. I'll admit that he kinda trained himself there, it was completely on accident. Fun fact! Many species have a 'second eyelid' for protecting themselves from sharp objects (like other beaks). I accidently caught Ivan's on photo here.  In summation: Pros: On the smaller side, beautiful colors, snuggly and isn't too picky on food. Very hardy and is tolerant to strangers if I take him to places he hasn't claimed for himself. Is okay if I leave him alone most of the day and can easily entertain himself if needed (read: not a cockatoo). Cons: Will tear through leather, shred windowsills, and crush your fingers if the mood takes him. He is extremely defiant and daring if he feels threatened (by, say, a strange hairdo). And oh god is he LOUD if he decides to have a screaming fit. Thankfully the training has helped tons so that's not so much a problem anymore. Still, I am thankful the lock on his cage is made to be un-pickable. Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 06:44
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It decided to drop to 0C and snow out of nowhere today, and Ohtori doesn't know what to make of this. He was quite happy to sit on my hand and watch the snow fall, and look at the crows outside bath in it. So much for taking him/them outside to see autumn leaves this weekend.
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Oct 27, 2012 12:31
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Thank you to whoever posted that awesome youtube clip of the bird with half a TP tube. Squirt has been playing with it at every opportunity. Also, re: poopchat, squirt is a rainbow lorikeet, and has always had runny shits, hence the name. We have checked his diet with a bird vet and he says its good, so we just live with it. NPR Journalizard fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 12:44
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Battle Pigeon posted:It decided to drop to 0C and snow out of nowhere today, and Ohtori doesn't know what to make of this. He was quite happy to sit on my hand and watch the snow fall, and look at the crows outside bath in it. So much for taking him/them outside to see autumn leaves this weekend. Birrdddsss. 
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Oct 27, 2012 15:07
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I'm not sure if Ohtori went out in the snow last year, he lived outside but if I remember correctly the whole aviary top was covered so no snow would have gotten in. If it gets warmer and the snow stays long enough I might take him out for a short while to see it. Since he's not used to 0C anymore he can't go out now, but maybe another time before winter hits. Or I could put him on his harness and open the window sideways so he can check out snow on the window ledge if any lands there 
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Oct 27, 2012 17:02
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This is Ritz!   Most of you know him, because my girlfriend is incessantly uploading pictures and videos to my flickr / her youtube. He's a Sun Conure, and his hobbies include, but are not limited to: Being a brat, flying around in circles, kissing all the toys, ringing all the bells and biting fingers/ears (drat bird will not break the habit). Overall he's a joy, but sometimes he's a bit unruly. We 'rescued' him from PetCo. We really didn't rescue him, but at PetCo he was in a cage with two toys, a bowl of seed and a bowl of water, so he's living a much better life now. When we got him he was just over five months old, he's just over a year now. It is true, he likes to hang upside down a lot, and when he was younger that caused a ton of stress. During his first moult, he broke two blood feathers in his tail, and then completely broke his tail feathers off, having a chicken butt for a short while. He's much better now, doesn't fall anymore yet we still have a towel in his cage for whatever reason. As I'm typing this he's sitting on my shoulder preening and attempting to nest in my beard/sideburn. Sometimes he's a good bird like this, others he's a jerk. But we're happy with our decision. He kinda picked us, we didn't really go into PetCo looking to buy a Sun, but after visiting him a couple times, seeing how he remembered us and interacted with us, we knew he was our bird! He also shares my girlfriend's hatchday, which was an instant attachment for her.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:26
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This is Mickey.  Mickey is my GCC. I say "my" but we're really his. Mickey Perching on it;  Perching in it;  And so much more. Mickey loves to eat with you. In fact, he'll have what you're having. Straight from your mouth, thank you. We're trying to slowly break him of that and I think it's going ok. Mickey loves to snuggle and be held, but refused to step up when we first got him. He responded really quickly to positive reinforcement and praise, though. So we're currently trying to tackle potty training. At night, once he's covered, he stands on his perch and clutches his mirror and says "pretty biiiiiiiiird, baby biiiiiiiiird." pros He's super snuggly and loves us a lot. He quickly picks up new information and responds well to being loved on. cons We got him from petco (which I normally wouldn't have done but) because he'd been there for more than six months and nobody really paid much attention to him. He started barbering his feathers. Barbering is a behavior similar to plucking, but the feathers are bitten off and not pulled out. So he looked like this  . I wouldn't go back for the world though.
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Oct 27, 2012 17:42
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How do conures do alone vs in pairs? For cockatiels, I've always noticed that they tend to be happier with another cockatiel. I'd feel really guilty to get one and leave him around the apartment for 8 hours a day or possibly longer, for example. In a family home one would be fine since there are people in and out all day, but for a young person who lives alone it doesn't seem like it would be enough, even with an hour or two of cuddles in the evening. Two though I wouldn't worry about, they can keep each other endlessly entertained with two stooges shenanigans. Then again, having two cockatiels is barely any hassle. They're small and not messy. Two conures seems like a way larger investment of time and energy. Also, do conures need to be clipped?
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Oct 27, 2012 18:16
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My cockatiels hate each other. And my conure doesnt care for the tiels either. Oh well. I finally got my Bart-tiel to eat pellets !!!!!!!!! Pichu will eat harrisons already but Bart seemed reluctant. I bought some of the zupreem fruit budgie sized one and hes eating it now! Excellleeennnt. I'm gunna do a mix of that + Harrisons and hope he eats that too. edit: Wizard, my GCCs feathers kinda looked like that too, not as bad but...looked bad. He was a pretty ignored bird/pity purchase at petco but is tons better now. Still looking for a person to adopt him (yea I know bad decisions all around) but hes so much better than a year ago. Malalol fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 18:29
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Ohtori was fine alone and doesn't really seem to care either way if Steve is there or not, I have no idea if he'd like another conure but they'd probably get along better. However, I'm home most of the time-if he was to be alone for 8 or more hours, I probably would look into getting him a more compatible friend. I've been away for weeks at a time, so only my partner was around but going to work, so the birds were alone for 8+ hours during the week. They were clingy but seemed okay. Given things to do and lots of interaction time when you get home, it's doable, compared to say a macaw which might not be so adaptable. Clipping is quite a polarising topic, and no bird really "needs" to be clipped unless there are real safety concerns. Here in Europe clipping is uncommon and often even considered cruel. In the US, and I'd say UK, it's more acceptable. Birds can become more laid back after clipping, but they may also lose confidence. Flight is also great exercise and lets them get around much easier than climbing and running (which could be a problem itself). It's up to you-personally I'd say leave them flighted, unless there are real safety issues, or possibly if you want to try and curb aggressive tendencies should they arise.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:31
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Zomodok posted:On the topic of poops The other day I told Amadeus to go poop and he did so, but I neglected to tell him he was a good bird, pretty bird afterwards. In a moment of either genius or complete  , he praised himself for being a pretty pooping bird by crooning at me, "pretty poop."He's a good boy, he figured out quickly that I want him crapping in the trashcan next to my computer chair, so whenever he has to relieve himself he flies over to grip the arm rest and poop into the trashcan below.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:38
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Battle Pigeon posted:Clipping is quite a polarising topic, and no bird really "needs" to be clipped unless there are real safety concerns. Here in Europe clipping is uncommon and often even considered cruel. In the US, and I'd say UK, it's more acceptable. Birds can become more laid back after clipping, but they may also lose confidence. Flight is also great exercise and lets them get around much easier than climbing and running (which could be a problem itself). It's up to you-personally I'd say leave them flighted, unless there are real safety issues, or possibly if you want to try and curb aggressive tendencies should they arise. I didn't know it was an issue. I don't know about conures but cockatiels will take off on you, if you let your guard down and give them an opportunity.
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Oct 27, 2012 19:02
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Our quaker is clipped and I swear to god flies better then our budgie does. drat bird flies circles around us and through our apartment. Our lovebird is amazing though because he flies so elegantly compared to the quaker. Just swoops and hovers around so easily. I don't think we are going to clip our quakers wings when they regrow and our other birds really won't allow us to clip their wings since the lovebird runs as soon as he sees hands. Birds 
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Oct 28, 2012 02:27
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Can we get a list of online bird supply vendors going? First one that immediately comes to mind is Windy City Parrot. I'm running out of items with bells that my birds haven't seen before, and sketchy Asian wholesale sites aren't cutting it.
Official Bizness fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Oct 28, 2012 |
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Oct 28, 2012 05:02
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My favorite is The Birdsafe Store. It's a small business and the guy who runs it is always really great about customer service. Lots and lots of toy parts, particularly for birds that like to destroy wood. And there's always https://www.bird.com
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Oct 28, 2012 12:46
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I've purchased lots of toys and misc stuff, foods and what not from Drs. Foster and Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/bird-supplies/pr/c/5059) and https://www.naturechest.com has a nice variety of toys as well as great customer service.
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Oct 28, 2012 16:04
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I'm afraid we're starting to have a problem. Marceline and Finn are every once in a while having squwabbles that are getting more bad - but not more frequent. Today I took the two of them out and I usually make them give me and each other kisses in the morning when I first take them out... I guess just as a routine to make sure they're still being sweet to each other. Today Marceline started puffing up and posturing and being really aggressive toward Finn... which basically never happens. Finn on and off gets jealous of her/gets prepubesecent boy aggressive but for the most part it's harmless lunging that I put a stop to instantly - but Marceline? Basically never. She hasn't been aggressive toward Finn since the second or third day we had them both home so this is really strange. I wanted to figure out what was wrong so I sat on the ground with the two of them and did the whole separating them when they try to be aggressive, scold the aggressive one etcetc repeat till they were being nice and at least tolerating each other. Then I scooted them together slowly, basically like they were just being introduced again. They seem to get more aggressive when they're on me though, like they're both trying to be in charge of me? I kept working with them till they were being their normal sweet selves preening each other but I'm worried. Does anyone else with two birds have experience with this? Are they both just getting to that age where they're going to be bitch-bird and bastard-bird for a while? I'm really not looking forward to bitey bird time to be honest. Finn lunged at Marceline and I intercepted it and got a good bite on my finger - only a pinprick but that's really bad for him, he never bites me. It was cute though because he instantly put his head down and looked super ashamed like "Sorry mommy that wasn't for you.  "
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Oct 28, 2012 16:04
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It happens sometimes, I see bonded lovebirds suddenly being pissy with each other for a day or so, and I have no idea why. Probably Finn might have made some sounds she found irritating the previous day or they might have had their little bird squabbles or stuff like that. If it's a long term thing then it might be puberty or Marceline trying to claim you or something like that, but I think it's nothing much to worry about. Also I went for another bird outing thing today, tired now so will post pictures tomorrow!
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Oct 28, 2012 17:03
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:My favorite is The Birdsafe Store. It's a small business and the guy who runs it is always really great about customer service. Lots and lots of toy parts, particularly for birds that like to destroy wood. Thanks for the links. Hannah needs some new toys Any recommendations for perches? Right now I just have several dowels going from one end to the other. I have about 3 levels.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:16
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Amaya posted:Does anyone else with two birds have experience with this? Are they both just getting to that age where they're going to be bitch-bird and bastard-bird for a while? I'm really not looking forward to bitey bird time to be honest. Finn lunged at Marceline and I intercepted it and got a good bite on my finger - only a pinprick but that's really bad for him, he never bites me. It was cute though because he instantly put his head down and looked super ashamed like "Sorry mommy that wasn't for you. Maybe just let them do what they will for a while, like not making them give each other kisses anymore, just let them approach each other when they want and praise for good interaction, seperate for poor. Make sure they have individual areas they can both go to, to have their own space, if it gets worse have individual time with them instead of both at once? Maybe it's due to Finn being hormonal, Marceline could be picking up on and responding to that. I don't suppose anyone knows any sites with free or cheap international shipping? All the US sites have the best stuff but most either don't ship internationally, or it's expensive.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:37
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You want to find perches of varying sizes--birds can develop arthritis and other foot problems from always sitting on perches of the same diameter. I have a mix of natural-wood perches, a dowel, and some rope perches. I really love the rope perches, since they can be set in different positions. Perches with sandy textures for claw maintenance can be problematic. I do have one--it's just a small one, set in front of Pinto's food dish. He doesn't spend enough time on it to hurt his feet, but he does use it daily and I think it has some slight effect on his claws. e. Another nice perch type is something small that goes on the door of the cage. Pinto has an acrylic semi-circular perch; it doesn't interfere with opening the door and he can hang out on it with the door open if he doesn't feel like actually coming out.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:40
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:You want to find perches of varying sizes--birds can develop arthritis and other foot problems from always sitting on perches of the same diameter. I have a mix of natural-wood perches, a dowel, and some rope perches. I really love the rope perches, since they can be set in different positions. Thanks! His playstand that he spends a lot of time on does have different size perches, but I am definitely upgrading the stuff in his cage. Those rope perches caught my eye too.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:56
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Since he first came, I've been trying to teach Steve two new tunes, though it's slow going since he doesn't whistle much and stops for weeks at a time when molting. Apparently though he's slowly getting the hang of it-he's just whistling sections in the wrong order, and has a tendancy to add an extra WHEEOO at the beginning
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Oct 29, 2012 01:20
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Today was the last visit with Zippy before she comes home for real! I carved her a pumpkin, but she hated it It looks great in my new living room at least.
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Oct 29, 2012 02:54
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Hi, here are the promised pictures! http://www.flickr.com/photos/89318284@N05/sets/72157631877509107/ Too many of them and they're too large, so they're in Flickr instead. Some teasers:   
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Oct 29, 2012 06:14
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Birds :3
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Oct 29, 2012 09:04
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Eeee, is that a little Meyer's parrot? --Oh, wait, I see from the tag it's a Ruppell's parrot. Wow. Very uncommon. Did you get to hang out with him/her?
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Oct 29, 2012 12:26
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:Eeee, is that a little Meyer's parrot?  You might be right, someone else commented that it was a Ruppell's parrot, it might have been a Meyer's, I'm not sure. Most probably a Ruppell since he has more grey around his head, I guess? A bit difficult to tell since he is is wee babby.  There's a picture of a sulphur crested in there, while I was taking the picture he was bobbing up and down and going BYYEEEEEEEE when people said hello to him. Cockatoos. EDIT: Yeah definitely a Ruppell's parrot, here's a picture of him (younger) from his owner's Facebook page: 
Deadly Chlorine fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 29, 2012 13:29
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Awww. Little babby Poicephalus without evil glowing red eyes. That's pretty neat--I hope you get to see more of him. There's not a whole lot of info about them as pets. Great pictures!
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Oct 29, 2012 16:29
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Aww, he's got a cute little stump tail. I like the stand full of lovebirds, and the cockatoo is adorable of course. Anyone got any idea of some other tricks I could teach to Ohtori? He knows step up, wave (which is really lifting his foot and clasping it around the end of his beak), turn around (spin), shake, and to ring a bell on a chain when I hold it and tell him Ring Ring for a bit of nut. He knows what Come Here means, but only responds to my partner. I'm not sure if he knows what Go Poop means, he gives us strange looks when we ask him, and he has done it a few times after hesitation but it could have been coincidence.
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Oct 29, 2012 16:32
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Does he spread out for Eagle Wings? That's a popular one. And there's things like putting a ball in a cup or a ring on a peg--even if you don't want to hunt up trick supplies you can mess around with variations.
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Oct 29, 2012 16:40
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:Does he spread out for Eagle Wings? That's a popular one. And there's things like putting a ball in a cup or a ring on a peg--even if you don't want to hunt up trick supplies you can mess around with variations. I didn't think of that. He doesn't spread them out like cockatiels do (actually, I've only seen Steve do that once), so any idea how I could go about that? E: Went looking for articles instead, this one seems quite nice and in depth: http://trainedparrot.com/Wings/ Battle Pigeon fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 29, 2012 16:45
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Battle Pigeon posted:Aww, he's got a cute little stump tail. I like the stand full of lovebirds, and the cockatoo is adorable of course. I think one of the most difficult, but impressive tricks for small birds is roll over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAiZFWagccc Can't teach Sunny that without him biting the poo poo out of my fingers for now.  EDIT: Ohtori is also flighted, right? You can teach him basic recall, flying to a perch and back to your hand for now. I think Carly Lu's flight blog is a good starter! Deadly Chlorine fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 29, 2012 17:16
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I started teaching him Eagle, but after a while he got frustrated that waving/shaking/spinning wasn't getting him his nut so got bitey. He seems to not mind being made to lift his wings too much-I'm just touching him with a finger on each side, rather than pulling them out manually like some places were suggesting.Deadly Chlorine posted:EDIT: Ohtori is also flighted, right? You can teach him basic recall, flying to a perch and back to your hand for now. I think Carly Lu's flight blog is a good starter! He does know it, at least the coming part-he just point blank refuses to do it for me anymore.
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Oct 29, 2012 17:22
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I'm really wanting to get the birds started on recall training but everywhere I've read says that clickers are basically necessary. I've found some places online that sell them but they're so cheap that I can't see the point in getting them shipped...I have something that makes the 'clicker' noise (it's a little half sphere with a smilie face on it that has a clicker inside) and was wondering if that would work? They just need a consistant noise right? Alternatively, is there anywhere I could just go to and buy one at? We have a pet smart and pet co but I've never seen any there? Then again I didn't look in dog or cat sections...
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Oct 29, 2012 18:52
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