Breaking the bedtime routine

As previously posted, Dalai left his quarantine cage on May 11th.  That evening, when it came to bedtime, there was a bit of chaos.  Dalai did not want to go into his own home so settled on a perch on the outside of the Silver Villa, where Bezukhov & Phineas were already inside sleeping.

Both cages covered over

Dalai chatting with Bezukhov

He showed no signs of going into any cage – bear in mind he had a choice of his own quarantine cage, the Silver Villa & the Manor.  As a last resort, I had to catch him in order to get him to a place of safety for bed.  He is not finger tame so the simple act of putting my finger in front of him freaked him out, so we ended up having a mad chase around the room.  I eventually caught him (boy, can he screech like he is being murdered!) & popped him back into his own cage.

The following evening (12th May), Bezukhov & Phineas retired to bed as usual, in the Silver Villa.  Dalai fell asleep on a perch on the Manor.  As it got late, I gave him a little nudge & to get away from me he flew into the Villa.  So, that was their first night all sleeping together.

Naturally, I set the alarm extra early to check on them the next morning.  All was well but I let them out early anyway.  Interestingly, Dalai went straight to his own cage & had a long chat with his red mirror.

Dalai chatting with Phineas on the platform perch

Morning after the night before

The following evenings Dalai decided to sleep in his own cage.  It is worth noting that his cage is alongside the Villa & at night I put the cover across both cages so they can see each other.  There is a perch in the Villa that lines up nicely with where Dalai sleeps in his cage & either Bezukhov or Phineas will sleep there if Dalai is not in with them.

Since then, Dalai has gradually increased his overnight stays with Bezukhov & Phineas, & we are now at a point where he sleeps with them every night.  In fact, he rarely even goes into his own cage any more so I am considering removing it.  I still try to get them out early the next morning as I find that Bezukhov gives me the hint by quietly waiting on the platform perch (where the small door opens) to be let out.  Dalai is less subtle & when he wants to come out he has a tantrum & sometimes pushes past Bezukhov on the platform perch in order to be out first!

 

 

 

Feeding Dalai

Since Dalai has joined Bezukhov & Phineas, I have seen both of them regurgitate for him.

Bezukhov feeding Dalai:

Phineas feeding Dalai:

 

These actions must surely make Dalai feel welcome in our flock!

 

 

Dalai and the Red Mirror

Dalai likes to play with his red mirror:

 

 

Dalai’s first day out

The three of them!

When Dalai finally came out of his quarantine cage, he was quietly confident.  Apart from the first few seconds of panic when I think he did not know how to fly lower than the ceiling, he coped very well.

On that first day, he proved himself to be a great flyer, despite being cooped up in a cage for weeks (possibly months – including his previous home).  Though his first landing was on the Silver Villa (a convenient flat top), his first port of exploration was the Manor (see video below – you can see Phineas bending Dalai’s ear whilst Bezukhov keeps a respectful distance).

To either show off how smart he was or to simply have a few minutes to recollect himself, Dalai expertly popped back into his own home at intervals.

It was not long before the Silver Villa was investigated.  Here he found seed so he was able to stop & refuel before continuing with his adventures.  He also found Phinny’s pink ttmss swing.  Whilst he was on there, Phineas felt the need to shadow him from above (see video below).  The swing turned out to be a nice place for Dalai to have a snooze too.

Dalai eating out of the first feeder.

Phineas monitoring Dalai on his swing

Bezukhov snoozing

Dalai resting

Dalai snoozing

Dalai finds the other feeder

 

Dalai’s first visit to the Manor:

Dalai on the pink swing in the Silver Villa & Phineas prowling around on top:

 

 

Stormy Weather

We had some very heavy, black clouds the other day.  Dalai & Bezukhov watched them from the window perch & waited for the inevitable rain:

Dalai & the storm clouds

Dalai & the storm clouds

Dalai & Bezukhov & the storm clouds

Dalai & Bezukhov & the storm clouds

Bezukhov & the storm clouds

 

 

For all those who cannot hear the words ‘Stormy Weather’ without hearing the song, ‘Stormy Weather’, this is for you: Lena Horne singing Stormy Weather

 

Poop bomb

Phinny & a poop bomb

Phineas has a very fluffy bottom.  Whilst this is a lovely feature in itself, it can cause problems with poop.  When a bottom is exceedingly fluffy, the feathers may not part enough to let poop pass.  This means that sometimes poop gets caught on the feathers on the way out.  If not removed immediately, subsequent poop may land on the already caught poop.  Over time, this creates, what I call, a poop bomb.

Usually, with a bit of activity, which in Phinny’s case can often mean the hand jive, the poop bomb is dislodged.  A stubborn poop bomb that becomes enmeshed in the feathers may take more work to dislodge.  Recently, Phineas had one of these stubborn poop bombs dangling from his bottom feathers for about 2 days.

When preening, I have seen him manage to get hold of a poop bomb & then fling it away which explains why I find them in all sorts of strange places.

Whilst I am on the subject of poop, at one point Phinny’s poop bombs were marbled, i.e., the individual poops were not well defined, resulting in a marbled poop bomb.  I was not happy about these as they suggested something was not right.  It was not long after this, that I introduced the salt lick.   After a day or two of licking the salt, Phinny’s poops became better formed again.  Coincidence?  Possibly.  Or perhaps the salt helped in some way.

Marbled poop bomb

‘Normal’ poop bombs

Stubborn poop bomb

 

 

 

 

Conversations with a peg

Dalai likes talking to the peg:

 

 

 

Freedom, friends & food

As previously reported, Dalai finally left the confines of his cage on the 11th May, after several weeks of quarantine & sitting tight.  The deciding factor to getting him out was wild, seeded grass.  In other words, an irresistible foodie treat!

Dalai eating grass

 

His moment of freedom was captured on film:

 

After a bit of goading from Phineas, & then Bezukhov coming to investigate, Dalai found his wings & was off!

He flew several high laps of the room & did not appear to know how to fly lower but gradually his circles got lower until he executed a perfect landing on the Silver Villa!  He then flew off again & found the Manor.  He also, very cleverly, found his own cage & the doorway & popped back home!

 

Footie Fan

Who knew that Bezukhov was a fan of football?!