Hailing a passing hand

On 26 February 201224 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Atilla3 Comments

An earlier post introduced the Hand Navigation System (HNS) that Atilla uses. Over the weeks/months/years, she has honed it until it is now very effective & it is in use practically every day.

In this first video you will see Atilla hailing a passing hand. Once in position she is able to navigate it to her destination which in this case was the back of the chair. You will see that the hand can support more than one passenger but only one can navigate.

This video shows how the HNS can move up, down, left, right…. particularly when Atilla is undecided where she wants to go….

Round & around the egg dish

On 25 February 201223 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Atilla, Bezukhov, Cagney, food4 Comments

Why is it that feathered kids (fids) go round & around a food dish when the food inside is the same? Does it taste different from the other side? I am guessing it is a case of the grass being greener on the other side, i.e., the egg being nicer on the other side. Budgies sure don’t like to miss out on anything!

Here is a short video of the toyboys going round & around the egg dish:

Here is Atilla joining the toyboys…. clearly she needed to approve of both the egg dish AND the camera.

PS. I was not completely sure of the use of the words “round” & “around” so I have used both to cover all bases. 🙂

More refurbishments

On 21 February 201219 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn swings, toys3 Comments

Following on from the post “Swing refurbishment“, I recently did the second swing.

The main difference with this one is that I threaded on a lattice ball that can rotate. I also reused some beads from another toy & dangled them from both sides of the perch.

Once again, Cagney seems to like the swing best & chews at all the different textures.

Reflections on a ladder

On 20 February 201219 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Atilla, toys5 Comments

Atilla has always been fond of her mirror friends. I think she sees them as part of the flock. Sometimes she does the “rounds” & gives all of them a kiss & a thump to remind them she is still the boss.

The ladder system has a section with an inbuilt mirror. Atilla is very sociable with this mirror & also a tad territorial. If one of the toyboys dares to touch it, she throws herself down the vertical section of the ladder to warn them off. I often think how scary it would be to suddenly look up & see a fluffed up & agitated Atilla descending rapidly!

Here are some photos of her with the latest mirror addition, the orange ladder mirror….

Plus a couple videos….

Big-head Bezukhov

On 19 February 201219 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Bezukhov, ferplast, moult4 Comments

Well, darling little Bezukhov does not really have a big head, although from this photo you would think he would tip forward from the size of it…

20120122_130646 — Whadya mean, "Big Head"?!

Right now he has a very pinny head….

20120215_120240crop — I'm still cute, aren't I?!

….still sporting the mysterious black blob.

The elephant in the room

On 18 February 201218 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Atilla, lump, manor, preen7 Comments

…. or rather, the lump in the room…

Since I reported on Atilla’s last visit to Mr Avian Vet, I have not mentioned her fatty lump & hernia problem. This has not been intentional. It is just that she is still a busy madam & gives me lots to focus on other than the lump.

Unfortunately her “undercarriage” lump is gradually getting bigger. It can be seen in some of the photos in other posts. It is big, soft & wobbly. The far side of it has fluffy feathers on as she cannot reach there to preen. However, I have seen Cagney preen her lump! He did not plan to, but was climbing up the cage bars & Atilla was on the peg above him & as he reached her he looked up & was faced with her fluffy lump. He immediately started to gently preen it & Atilla did not mind in the slightest.

The lump is starting to upset her balance a little but she still gets around as much as before. She attempts a big fly at least once a day but always lands on the floor. I have now set up a “stairway” from the floor to the Manor if she should find herself stranded & I am not around to help her up. I do supervise their out of cage time but may go out the room for just a few minutes. One time recently I returned & she was on the floor by the Manor, unable to work out how to get home & that is what made me think of constructing the stairway. At least she has the option for independence although I suspect she will prefer to wait for my hand lift service.

So, apart from the lump getting bigger, there is no other health impact so far…. Atilla is still busy, bright-eyed & the boss.

Scratching Perch

On 15 February 201212 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Cagney, feathers, perches8 Comments

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Love is….. regurgitated seed

On 14 February 201212 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Atilla, bird seed, Cagney, food4 Comments

One good side of Cagney is that he makes sure Atilla is well fed. As soon as he eats something, he is over to her to share, whether she likes it or not.

Lunch:

A picture reminiscent of the spaghetti scene in Lady & the Tramp….

Snack:

Mysterious black blob

On 13 February 201212 February 2012 By onesweetiepeaIn Bezukhov, feathers, moult7 Comments

For the last few weeks, Bezukhov has been sporting a mysterious black blob on his head. It has not shifted, even through vigorous head rubs on perches & cage bars. He will not let me touch his head so I do not know what it feels like.

However, the other day, after it got wet after a romp in some celery leaves, the colour seemed to bleed…. it looked like blood! Dried blood!

The mystery deepens.

Then it looked like he had a chunk of feathers missing from above his cere & I wondered if this was the result of a fight, but now I conclude he is moulting & is suffering from “moulty face”.

The mysterious black blob still remains. It even sticks out now. Whatever it is, it is not budging!

I have tried to take photos of it but they are a bit blurry…