Its been a while! Got some changes... :>) Sorry its so long!

[MammaKim]

Hello all! Its been a while since I was here last, and I was a new member then...I am the one that adopted Lucy with MaBirds help. Lucy is doing GREAT! Still no squaking, yelling or screaming! Yay Lucy! Her new game is Marco Polo...She says Marco, we say Polo. So darned cute! 9 pm every night she tells us its her bedtime and she will see us tomorrow. She is AHH MAY ZING!!! She likes to be on her perch during dinner - it is the only time she will eat real food. She does not enjoy being at the table, just near the table!

Oscar my cockatiel is well. He still refuses fresh food, and I still try! LOL! He and Lucy carry on birdie conversations...He tells her he loves her and that Oscar is a pretty bird and Lucy just talks about whatever she feels like. It is quite funny - they pause for each other! They have great manners!

Dancer my green cheek is very cheeky! He/She LOVES balls and rolls on all over the place with them. He is definitely the entertainer and the extremely interactive bird. If he is in his cage and wants out, he comes to the front and knocks...if you ignore him or dont hear him, he screams at you! He is very mouthy and uses his beak when he does not want to be put down, picked up, taken out, put in, etc. But his antics and cuteness is worth the fight to try and break him!

Which leads me to my new additions....WHO KNEW??? So, we are in a petstore one evening - my daughter wanted a lovebird....Hmmm....Not so sure I wanted one, but said we would look and discuss it, etc. (I had made her research sooooo much on proper care of a bird, give me pros and cons to owning a bird, etc....) Yeah, those hand-tame lovebirds they told me about?!?!? WILD BIRDS. I would have been better with a sparrow caught in my front yard! But, while in the bird room, my husband (bless his heart) had a beautiful blue quaker attach to him. My husband asked...ok, begged, to bring this bird home. The store was closing, I offered 100 less than the asking price and Twister became a part of our family. What a sweet bird she(?) is! My daughter has taken her over and is doing well with her care and my watchful eye.

AND, finally....I went to pick up a cockatiel with my friend who wants a bird. We got to the house to meet this extremely tame tiel. My friend has only ever been around my birds and wanted one that was similar in personality to Twister. One problem - when they brought out the tiel to meet us, she was not a tiel. She was an Umbrella! Of course my friend was petrified of this big bird! She was so sweet, and so needed a good home. She had not lived anywhere for longer than 2 - 4 months in the last 3 to 4 years. So, I drove home with a too, a massive cage and a 3 to 4 year old bird, that is really....19!!!! She had a sore on her chest that I did not notice until I got home (it owuld not have mattered anyway...) and only has 2 full tail feathers (one on each side). She reaches with her back foot and pulls her tail feathers forward and either strips them or breaks them off. Off to the vet we trotted the next day, had all her blood work, etc done. He gave us cream for her sore, which is healing nicely. She will pick it if I let it get too dry, but I think it is that itchy scab feeling she is not liking. Switched her off her cockatiel mix onto Zupreem which she took to immediately. Gave her fresh food which she gobbled. (Her favorite food prior was ruffles potato chips....) She is a big snuggler and constantly wants kisses. The only issue I have had with her is that she does not "step up" or come out of her cage when I want her to! She comes out when you leave the door open and then gets up on top, where she also wants to stay. Once you get her off her cage though, she does not want to be without you. It is just that cage attachment. We are working on her stepping up, but she is stubborn! She will not step up to a perch either. I thought maybe that someone had used a perch with her, but no luck. Her name is Casey. Her cage was a disaster, so I just located a new cage for her and she moved into the new one with no issues. She has shared her too voice with us, but it is generally when she is playing and she does this loud HA HA HA HA. Yesterday, she started mocking me, just like Lucy does. So, unexpectedly I got one of my two dream birds that I swore I would never actually own because they were such messy messy birds. My other dream bird is a Hyacinth, but I am not seeing that one happen unless I win the lottery, and wait until the human minors move out so that each bird gets its own room!

As for the 17 other birds out back? (chickens) They have yet to lay a single egg....I keep telling the other birds that we are so excited to be getting their cousins offspring for breakfast but their cousins are not cooperating! LOL! One of the chickens (The biggest and heaviest and prettiest - so pretty I thought it may end up being a rooster which would have ended up in the stew pot....) has taken to perching on us when we go into their pen our house. And no worries, we wash well after being around the chickens and the domestics. I dont know if they can share any weird things, but why take a chance!


Sorry for the long post, just thought I would share! I am off to post on the 2 board to get suggestions about getting Casey to step up!

[Emmilyy]

Wow, your flock sounds like loads of fun! I'm so jel! I'm glad Lucy is doing well! and you're green cheek sounds like a riot, love em!

Congrats on the two new additions - how great of you to take that 'Too! I can't beleive they said she was a Teil!? whaahhh?

I'd love to see some pics of your flock! :D

[LovelySydney]

Youre flock sounds like a lot of fun (and a lot of cage cleaning) I cant believe you went to get a tiel and it was an Umbrella - thats QUITE the difference I must say!!! It sounds like everyone is settling in wonderfully and has awesome forever homes. Got any pictures of your flock? We'd love to see!!

[MammaKim]

Thanks. I am so in love with them all. Cage cleaning can be a chore but its a good chore. Here are some pics!

Oscar with my very bird oriented daughter, Jen. Who asked if I was leaving the birds to her in my will and could she have some when she moved out....she is 10!



Here is Dancer, actually cooperating for a pic!




Twister, in Jens hand



Lucy with Miranda, my 14 year old! See her new feathers? No pink topped wings! YAY!



And Casey with Vinnie, my 14 year old special needs son. Casey is really good for Vinnie...She loves unconditionally. He loves it when she sneaks up to kiss him!



The big flock!



And Jen with our lonely white hen....

[hsmoscout]

Awww...they are all so cute!!!! Glad to have you "back"

[Greycloud]

Umm.. not to step on any toes, but never let a too get that close to your face! You wouldn't believe the damage I've seen by trusted family pets. I was picturing your son without a nose. It has happened before. This is just a warning from an owner of a family trusted too.

[MammaKim]

Thanks for the advice greycloud! I do constantly remind the kids about not getting in any of their faces. Casey does sneak up and kiss and she was in a very calm mood, so I took a pic with my cell.

Thanks to everyone else as well! I think they are all pretty special!

[Tom Lawless]

Wow.

Lesson: I am to stay in constant contact with the Bird Board community or I may end up with a cockatoo.

Honestly, you have a beautiful flock and it sounds like it is a nice complement to your human family. I am so jealous of your children. Nothing would have made me happier when I was ten than having a little menagerie like yours to enjoy. So now at 46 I'm working on my own.

[mabird]

Wow, Kim! So glad to hear everyone is doing so well. Lucy looks amazing! Terry and Jenny must be so happy with their decision to place her with you. I knew I had a good feeling about you guys, lol!
I must say, I am surprised as to how quickly your flock has grown.

Take care, great to get the update, & I'll email you soon, I promise!

[MammaKim]

Melissa....SO AM I! You know what my plans were....LOL! Clearly planning does not work out so well for me. Just this past week, some one contacted me and asked if I would take her 2. For a second, I thought, but it was just a second! I emailed her a very kind email, thanking her for thinking of me, and declined. She said she did not realize how much work that birds are!

Thank you for all the kind words. I do feel so lucky.