Perry’s last week

Perry’s last week was actually pretty uneventful.

We continued giving him medication twice a day.  The morning slot was usually around 10-11am.  The evening slot was more fluid & largely dictated by whenever the opportunity presented itself.  In his last week Perry was having it around 7-8pm.

Perry resting on one foot

Perry continued to eat well, but never did return to eating from the seed pots.  During the daytime when he was mostly in Moriarty’s cage, I would offer either millet spray, or seed in the little red pot.  He continued to eat various vegetables & apple, when offered.  He would nap during the day, sometimes quite heavily, usually sitting on the branch perch on the far left hand side.  When he woke up, he would jump to the big horizontal perch, at which point Moriarty would appear to give him kisses. It was usually the time I offered food & also water.

When Perry retired back to his & Lennie’s cage in the evening, he would initially snooze on the branch perch, & Lennie would often take the opportunity to gently preen him. After a snooze, he would make his way to the triangle perch, where he would eat from the pegged up millet.  Perry was always a late eater, known in the past for snacking from the seed pot at midnight.  He continued with his late eating, often chomping away at the millet until 11pm.  I would leave a part of the cover up so I could spy his movements – if he moved to the left hand side of the triangle perch, that usually indicated he wanted some water, which I then offered.

Lennie preening a sleeping Perry

Mostly, Perry would roost on the far right hand side of the big horizontal perch, that had multiple layers of vet-wrap to soften it for his feet.

Perry was good at conserving energy.  In the mornings, the routine was to get Moriarty out first & whilst he was greeting Perry & Lennie through the bars of their cage, I would give his cage a quick clean.  The last task was to take his seed pot into the kitchen to ‘dustbust’ the breakfast seed husks away. When I returned it, that was when Perry usually started to stir as he knew I would open their cage up next.  He knew there was no point jumping about until I had done that seed pot!

Perry & Moriarty flirting

Previously, I would open the little door & he would make his way into Moriarty’s but in later months, with mobility being hampered, he would step up & I would transport him myself into Moriarty’s.  I would lock them both in for a morning flirt & bonding session, whilst I sorted out Lennie’s cage, at the same time, thanking Lennie for looking after Perry overnight & telling him he did a good job.

Then it was time for Perry’s morning medication. He was very much inspired by Moriarty also eating the vegetable that I hid the medicine on, so there was much chicanery going on with getting Perry to eat the ‘loaded’ piece of vegetable & making sure Moriarty did not.  A similar feat went on in the evening, with Lennie inspiring Perry to eat the food.

Certainly I could not have looked after Perry as well in his later months without Lennie & Moriarty’s assistance.

Perry

On Perry’s last night, I checked on him, via the baby monitor, before turning my bedroom light off at 2am.  I saw him, with his back to the camera, on the mid-height rope perch which suggested he had either had a seizure & had recovered (hence being on the perch) or had clumsily fallen.  I watched for a few minutes, then saw him give himself a shake then make his way up to the top perch (under the cover).  All seemed to be okay at that point.  I woke at around 4am & checked the monitor again.  This time, Lennie appeared to be on the mid-height perch (seemed odd) but after about 15 minutes, he too made his way back up.  Once again, I thought all was okay & went to sleep.  I found Perry the next morning, laying peacefully on the floor.

On reflection, I wonder if something had happened to Perry at 4am (hence Lennie being on the lower perch) but he was not visible due to his position being obscured by the double thickness of the cage door frame & door itself.  Or maybe not.  Either way, there did not appear to be any major disturbance aside from a fall.  A seizure episode would have likely knocked all seed/feathers from the cage floor, but there was no evidence of this.  I choose to believe his end was peaceful & calm.

I will leave you with the last video I took of Perry, six days before he left us:

 

Bath Relocation

For sometime now, the Thomas Bath has been set up on the outside of the main door of Moriarty’s (previously Dalai’s) cage.

Because of Perry’s recent wobbliness & the need to avoid open dishes of water in case he fell in, I had been putting the bath out less & less.  Add to that, Lennie rarely, if ever, comes out & he is our main bath user.  The bath location seemed redundant.

Lennie has always liked a bath, so I was holding it up to him in his cage so he could continue having his baths.  With this in mind, I decided to relocate the bath to the inside of the main door of Perry & Lennie’s cage.  That way, when Perry is spending the daytime in Moriarty’s cage, I can set up the bath for Lennie, close the door so it is lined up neatly with his perches & he can bathe at his leisure.

Lennie checking out the bath

Lennie having a bath

Lennie having a bath whilst Moriarty watches

Moriarty & Lennie conversing over the bath

Lennie comes out to check the bath whilst Moriarty watches

 

This system has been working well.  Lennie can have his bath (he has been known to shout when he wants me to put it in!)  I do not need to stand there holding it.  Perry is safe from the open water.  Moriarty is free to take a bath on the rare occasion that he is in the mood!

 

Perry on See-Saw Swing

Perry still occasionally has ‘manic’ moments when he flies & jumps around the cage erratically.   Most of the time he lands reasonably well on a perch but a couple of times he accidently landed on the see-saw swing, that he has not been on in years.  Moriarty was so excited, on both occasions, that he immediately joined Perry & jumped on the other side.

I managed to get some evidence with photos & an 8 second video!

Perry & Moriarty on the see-saw swing 7/10

Moriarty & Perry on the see-saw swing 27/10

 

Lennie Goes A-Wanderin’

Lennie has not come out of his cage for some time.  He comes out onto the door platform but that is about it.  In the morning, when Perry has gone to sit in Moriarty’s cage for the day, I open up Lennie’s so Moriarty can pop in & out to play with Lennie.

However, one evening, at the beginning of October, I looked up & saw Lennie was out!  He had made his way to the top of Moriarty’s cage.  It was meant to be a time for winding down for bed, but here he was, on a jaunt!  I quickly locked Moriarty in (Perry would not come out anyway) as I was not sure if there would be any territorial issues over Perry.  Lennie had a little roam around, then went back home.

Perry, Lennie & Moriarty

Lennie & Moriarty

Lennie

Lennie preening

Strangely, he did the same the following evening.

It felt like he was waiting for Perry to return for bedtime & decided he would go & find out what the delay was!

The following day he came out about 11am.  Once again, I locked Moriarty in to keep things calm.  Lennie stayed out for quite awhile.  He made his way over to Moriarty who was in his old cage.  Then he went to the top of the cage where Perry was, before making his way down to sit on the top of the open door where he preened for a bit.  He returned back to the top of the cage & played with the ball with crinkle paper before retiring back to his own cage.  He came out another couple of times later that same day.

Perry, Lennie & Moriarty

Lennie on top of cage door

Lennie playing with ball & paper

Lennie

I had hoped this would be the first of many outings, where I could gradually introduce Moriarty, but he has not been out since!

Here are some videos of the rare outing:

~

~

If you are wondering about that dodgy wing feather, it was sorted out by the vet a few days later on the 11th of October.

 

A Challenge and a Bonus

Since the last visit from the vet on the 11th of October (click here for that post), we have settled into a routine to support Perry & his health issues.

Perry

Perry’s anti-seizure medication is given to him every morning. The time varies slightly depending on his mood & whether he takes it quickly. The dosage for Epiphen is basically half a drop, a very small & challenging amount to administer. Fortunately, it is able to go on food, so I use either celery or apple, & Perry, for the most part, eats it. To measure out the medicine, I first syringe one drop out onto a plate, then try to get a smaller drop out (that I can compare to the full drop). I then dip thinly sliced celery or apple into it. Most of the time I offer the medication when Perry is alone & the others are distracted, but sometimes I offer it when Moriarty is around, as if he eats, then Perry may follow too (if he is being a little reluctant). In that situation, I make sure the celery/apple slice is a long strip so one end is ‘loaded’ & the other is free so Moriarty can eat it (if he wishes) & hopefully encourage Perry to eat his end.

Perry snoozing

The medication for Perry’s heart issue (Frusol) arrived in the post a week after the vet visit (we have postal strikes happening). It is to be given orally 2/3 times a day, but I decided, for now, not to give it to him. Coincidentally, I had bought passionflower extract as it is supposed to be good for epilepsy, but read that it is also good for the heart. I had not used it because I was unsure of dosage, but when the heart problem was diagnosed, & I did not yet have the Frusol, I decided to start putting a few drops in his water.

Perry’s water is now like soup – it comprises of chamomile tea, turmeric, milk thistle, Calcivet (5 days) & passionflower extract. I offer it to him roughly every 2 hours & he usually takes a glug or two. He has stopped drinking from the water bottles, hence my offering it to him. He has not eaten from a seed pot in many weeks now, so most of the time I am holding up millet to him (he refuses regular seed), or, if he is on his own, I peg it up but he will only eat it if he happens to be near it. Perry was never a fast eater, but now he eats very slowly, sometimes taking ages chewing/cracking each seed. Other than millet seeds, he also eats celery, apple, fennel, & small amounts of basil & lemon balm.

Bedtime Head Preen

During the day, Perry mostly spends time in Moriarty’s cage, whilst Lennie stays ‘home’.  Moriarty flits between Perry & Lennie.  However, at bedtime, Perry & Lennie sleep overnight together, so at some point in the evening, Perry returns to Lennie.

Lennie always gives Perry a nice welcome & more often than not, it is accompanied with a head preen.  Lennie gives a good head preen too – gentle & thorough.  Moriarty also preens Perry’s head during the day but he gets distracted after a few seconds, so I am sure Perry appreciates Lennie’s efforts.  It certainly looks very sweet & touching.

I have taken some photos but as the preening usually occurs around 7-8pm in the evening when lights are low, I did not want to ruin the mood by using flash, hence the bad quality!  I felt the recurrent scenes were worth recording though.

29-Aug-22 @19:27

28-Aug-22 @19:27:23

28-Aug-22 @19:27:11

27-Aug-22 @19:14

Lennie giving Perry a bedtime head preen, 12-Aug-22 @19:52

Weekend Disruption

On Friday, the 30th September, a gas leak was discovered outside the block of flats. The gas was turned off whilst it was investigated, leaving us without heating or hot water. Unfortunately, part of the solution was for the internal gas meters in three flats (mine included) to be relocated nearer to the external wall, to connect with new piping.

I was told an engineer would be along early on the Saturday morning to drill holes & lay the new piping, followed by someone else to physically move the meter. Because there was potential of dust from the drilling, noise & possibly leaking gas, I decided it would be best to move Perry, Lennie & Moriarty from the lounge (adjoining the kitchen where the work was to be undertaken) to my bedroom. The move would have to be done the night before, ready for the early start in the morning.

Perry & Lennie in my bedroom

Logically, it meant just wheeling two flight cages into the other room, but that would also mean moving furniture out of the way to maneouvre the cages. There is also the bump to be negotiated from laminate flooring to carpet, which if not carefully managed could result in an earthquake-type shake to the cage! Anyway, I decided against this & set up the folding, quarantine cage for Perry & Lennie, & for Moriarty to be in his old cage.

That evening, when Moriarty popped into his old cage, I locked him in. At that point, Perry was in Moriarty’s flight cage & Lennie was in the other flight cage. I carried Moriarty into my bedroom & placed him on my chest of drawers. That cage is big, but can be carried, though I found it difficult to hold it & see where I was going! Perry & Lennie were transported to their temporary lodgings via the small, carrier cage. Despite the upheaval, they all seemed to settle relatively quickly & we had a calm night.

Moriarty back in my bedroom

The next day, I kept popping in to check they were okay. I took the opportunity to give both the flight cages a proper clean & adjust some of the furniture.

The first engineer had finished by early afternoon but confirmed that the second part of the job would be completed the next day. As it was not going to be a particularly early start, I decided to bring Perry, Lennie & Moriarty back ‘home’ & return them to my bedroom the next morning. They were naturally pleased to be back in the lounge, but as the afternoon progressed, Perry became very lethargic, to the point he stopped eating. I switched over all supplements to “Guardian Angel” for sick birds, especially when they have lost their appetite. He managed to slurp some of the supplemented water, but barely ate anything.

Personality change for Perry?

In recent months, Perry’s behaviour has changed somewhat.

Just little things… but things he either did not do before or did not do often.

Here are some of the things I have noticed:

◈ The main thing is that Perry wants to fly more.  His flying is not too good – probably more due to lack of exercise/practice/motivation than any physical reason.  Whilst I appreciate the extra activity is a good thing, his flying can be erratic.  At times he does not plan in advance where he is going, but just suddenly sets off in a mad flurry.  I have caught him many times before he has landed on the floor (he loses height) or somewhere undesirable (his maneuvering skills are not great).

Moriarty & Perry playing on top of the cage

◈ Linked to the above, is Perry’s increased desire to be out & about with Moriarty.  He wants to be on top of the cage & tries to keep up with Moriarty (no one can!)  Whenever he is out, I supervise the whole time, helping him to get where he wants to be & making sure he is safe.

◈ Perry has been climbing the bars of the cage.  I cannot recall the last time he ever did this voluntarily!  Normally, this kind of activity would be too much of an effort, but a few occasions I have seen him climb the bars on the side of Moriarty’s cage.  He seems eager to get a better view when Moriarty is in his old cage, though it seems odd because Moriarty is backwards & forwards between the cages so there is no need to obsess over getting closer to him.

◈ On the occasion that Perry falls to the floor, he would usually step up onto my hand without hesitation.  Quite a few times now, he appears to not want my help to get to a higher perch.  (Or has he forgotten that stepping up will get him back to where he wants to be?)

Perry preening on perch he has never sat on before

◈ They can be creatures of habit, having favourite perching spots, favourite toys etc., but lately I have noticed Perry changing where he sits, or taking a slightly different path to get somewhere.  They are subtle changes, but noticeable.  Sometimes, on these differing paths, Perry looks like he is working something out for the first time.  For example, to go into his cage, the traditional route is to jump onto the seed pot from the door platform, turn around, then jump up onto the ‘triangle’ perch.  Several times now, he has sat on the door platform, head peering into the cage, seemingly trying to work out a route in.

◈ Some mornings, Perry is desperate to go in & visit Moriarty.  The usual routine is that I uncover them, then let Moriarty out first & whilst he is interacting with Perry & Lennie through the bars of their cage, I give his cage a quick clean.  Once done, I lift up the side door to let Perry come through to sit in Moriarty’s cage.  Usually Perry would be patient, waiting for the cue, before making his way over to the door, but recently he has been almost manic to get out, to the point that I let him go into Moriarty’s cage earlier than usual before he does himself an injury.

My first thought about these changes was that perhaps Perry had lost weight & found it easier to be more active (particularly the climbing & flying) but the last time the vet weighed him, his weight was stable.  My following thought was that perhaps these little changes are a result of the ongoing seizures he unfortunately suffers from – perhaps they rewire his brain in some way?

Whatever the reason, he is still the same Perry… but with some added twists & turns.

Perry

 

*** 500th post!!! ***

Would you believe it?!  This is the 500th post on this blog!  I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on these last few years of blogging.

Atilla

The blog was started not long after the Toyboys entered our lives.  Atilla & Raspy were already well-established, respected puddings.  Their lives were to change dramatically when Cagney & Bezukhov arrived.  Surprisingly (given recent events) their introduction went well.  The girls were not territorial over the Manor & the toyboys seamlessly entered their domain.  Initially, both girls were quite taken with Cagney (naturally, as he was later to be named Mr Popular) but it did not take long for Raspy to switch her allegiance to the more subtle but more engaging Bezukhov.  They became a devoted couple, chasing each other & flirting.  It was lovely to see.

Raspy

This left Cagney with Atilla to woo.  He took this task on with aplomb.  Atilla was a hard nut to crack.  He eventually did wear her down though & she became as devoted to him as he was to her.  Interestingly, Atilla & Cagney were the first to embark in carnal activities.  Though Raspy was keen to explore such areas, Bezukhov was rather shy & took a little coaxing.  Of course once they had succumbed, there was no turning back, & ‘synchronised boogie-woogie-ing‘ became commonplace.

Not long after I started the blog, Atilla provided me with rich content, when she unexpectedly began to lay eggs.  She laid 9 in succession.  With the benefit of hindsight, I would have provided her with a nest box & dummy eggs, to try & halt the process earlier.  It is pretty certain that her later hernia was triggered by the excessive egg-laying.

It was some time later, that

Atilla’s still got talent

Atilla is up to her old tricks again. I know that she likes my baggy, green t-shirt & the navy blue one – she likes to go up the sleeve & come out by my belly. I tend not to wear those t-shirts if I have work to be getting on with.  Yesterday she attempted the same with my light blue top, only this top has 3/4 length sleeves that are not so baggy.

After a little perseverance she managed to squeeze her way in, work her way up to my armpit & then emerge by my belly. Then there was no stopping her…. she wanted to go in again… & again…. & again…. It was like a fairground ride where she was the only one queuing.

I showed her a short cut though, where she could come out on my chest.

Here is a video. It’s a bit long as she decided to retrace her steps at one point.