Manor repurposed

As previously posted, the Manor is no more.  However, parts of the Manor have been salvaged, so it still lives on, in a somewhat limited & modified form.

The loft area

The former loft area, the dome-shaped part of the manor, that was typically the bedtime area, has been retained.  It was given a thorough clean & the lock on the top removed due to ingrained rust that could not be removed.  To join the two pieces together, I used cable ties & string.  To keep the shape, I trimmed some plastic perches (I knew I was keeping them for something!) & wedged them across the bottom at both ends.  These two changes produced a very sturdy structure, which can now be placed on top of a Villa & used as a playgym & general hang-out area.

Securing the top of the Tunnel

The Tunnel

Looking through the Tunnel

 

The bottom grid

The Manor is made of substantially heavier material than the Villa.  This meant that the newly fashioned dome lay quite heavy on the thinner bars of the Villa.  Enter the bottom grid of the Manor.  The Villa is slightly shorter in length & wider in depth than the Manor so the bottom grid fits very neatly & securely across the top of a Villa, with a tiny overhang on one side (assuming the other side is flush to the edge)  Because the grid is resting on the two side edges of the Villa, essentially the frame of the cage, it is supported well.  The addition of pegs along the back of the Villa (which are holding up the back cover anyway) ensure it does not slip & for the ‘belt & braces’ effect, ties on each corner further secure it.

The Tunnel

The repurposed loft area is now known as the Tunnel, mainly because you can go all the way through it & out the other end.  The Tunnel is fairly heavy so it does not lend itself to much movement when placed on the bottom grid of the Manor, on top of the Villa (keep up!)   However, for extra security, I placed a couple of ‘thingamajigs’ (the pink plastic connectors of a ladder, seen in this post here) at the back of the bottom grid to be used as stoppers to prevent the Tunnel from slipping backwards.  A peg at the front stops it from slipping forward.  The Tunnel is removed each evening, by simply lifting it up, & placing it on my coffee table; this makes it easier for me to put their bedtime cover over the Villa, with the added bonus that I can easily clean the Tunnel & any perches & toys that are attached.

The Tunnel in position

 

Landing Platform

The Manor landing platform, a location of much activity in the past, has also been repurposed.  I decided to position it on the side of the Villa.  Once again, because it is quite heavy, I needed a strong way to secure it.  The D-rings used for the large Manor seed pots were screwed on to provide a base to rest the landing platform on.  A perch from the far edge of the platform running underneath to the Villa secures the right level & further ties ensure no slippage.

Landing platform in position

Practice run of setting up landing platform

D-rings holding up the landing platform

 

End Result

I am pleased to report that all the above changes have been accepted by all Villa occupants, most probably because of the familiarity of the parts used.

Welcome back to the bits of the Manor!

 

 

…Hello New Villa!

After much thought, I decided to replace the Manor with another Villa (Liberta Oregon flight cage).

Though I wanted something with the same space as the Manor, I also wanted something that was not so tall & heavy.  ‘Heavy’ in a cage is a good thing as it indicates strength & durability, but over time I was finding it awkward & on the occasions when I dropped the bottom grid on my foot, painful!

The existing Silver Villa ticks quite a few boxes (not all – I doubt there is a cage in existence that has no bad points!)  Apart from needing to be a reasonable size, the other main thing it had to have was an adequately big central door, to enable easier catching of an occupant.  So, another Villa was chosen.  There are added bonuses: in the short term it would have a low scariness level in regards to introduction; in the long term having two homes that were essentially the same may help with any territorial issues.

The change warranted a clear plan of action.

• Step 1: Assemble the New Villa.
• Step 2: Remove Manor from the room.  Move Perry & Lennie, still living in their quarantine cage, from the left side of the Silver Villa to the right side, essentially where the Manor was, although alongside rather than facing the Villa.  The playgym reinstated in its proper place, left of Silver Villa.
• Step 3: Dress the New Villa, using some Manor furniture/accessories to aid with acceptance.
• Step 4: Move Perry & Lennie, in their quarantine cage to the other side of the room.  Bring in the New Villa & position in area they vacated, next to the Silver Villa.
• Step 5: Let them all out & hope that Perry & Lennie will move into the New Villa.

 

The 11th March was the day scheduled for Step 2.   After capturing what turned out to be Bezukhov’s last meal in the Manor, it was removed from the room & the layout changed.  All went to plan.

Bezukhov’s last meal in the Manor

Changed layout

 

Bezukhov is no fan of changes but he did welcome back his old friend the playgym.  Surprisingly, the playgym was new to Dalai but it did not take him long to join Bezukhov there.  By the following day, Perry & Lennie also visited the playgym.

Dalai & Bezukhov on the playgym

Lennie, Perry & Dalai on the playgym

Here is the animated version of Bezukhov’s reunion with the playgym & Dalai’s initial encounter:

 

After over a week of dressing the New Villa, the 20th March ushered in Step 4 of the plan.  Trying to make the changes as discreetly as I could, I carefully moved the New Villa right next to the Silver Villa, all the while gauging Bezukhov’s reaction, hoping he would not be scared.  Fortunately, he did not seem too put out with the new construction next door.  I moved the lamp from Perry & Lennie’s quarantine cage to the New Villa.

The New Villa

You will see that the New Villa is a darker colour than the Silver Villa.  It was described as ‘grey’ so I expected it to be the same as the Silver Villa.  It is actually closer in colour to the black bars of the quarantine cage.  Putting aside my general irritation that it is not the same colour (!) I worried that it may hamper acceptance.

 

For Step 5, when they were all let out, they naturally pretended the New Villa did not exist.  To encourage Perry & Lennie to spend the night in the New Villa, I bribed them with red millet.  It worked.  Here they are tucking in:

 

I hope they will all be happy with the New Villa.

 

 

Goodbye Manor….

For various reasons, I decided it was time to replace the Manor (Montana San Remo).  I had considered replacing it like-for-like but in the end, with great regret, thought it best to let it go completely.

Atilla & Raspy on the Manor door

The Manor is tied up with so many memories.  First & foremost, it makes me think of Atilla & Raspy because they were its first occupants.  The sisters were happy there.  They certainly claimed it for their own & micro-supervised any changes to the layout.  Cleaning of their domain was also scrupulously observed, to the point where they would, dare I say, hinder progress!

After having the Manor all to themselves for over a year, Atilla & Raspy graciously allowed two toyboys to share. In a sense, these were the golden years – two happy couples (Atilla/Cagney & Raspy/Bezukhov); two loyal sisters (Atilla & Raspy); two great buddies (Cagney & Bezukhov).

Of course nothing stays the same.  The Manor was witness to our first tragic event – the loss of Raspy.  Not too long after, the Manor was rearranged to accommodate an increasingly ailing Atilla.  Being the leader, the Manor was very much her territory & I feel she would have defended it, & its occupants, to the end.  When it sadly came, the end was peaceful, but the Manor lost another legend.

Cagney & Bezukhov continued on in the Manor, leaderless.  In fact, the Manor never saw another leader.  We were, of course, joined by the adorably, irascible Phineas.  Famously, Phineas never slept overnight in the Manor because the toyboys did not want to share their bedtime with him, so Phinny had his own sleeping quarters.  When Thomas joined us, he moved in with Phineas, rather than with the toyboys in the Manor.

Loft area

So, despite the changes to the flock, Cagney & Bezukhov retained sole residency of the Manor.  Time marches on though & changes continued.  The next significant change, in terms of the Manor, was the loss of Cagney.  Despite living in the Manor for 5 years, Bezukhov, without his best buddy, was uncomfortable sleeping there alone.  There was a trial run of Phineas joining Bezukhov in the Manor at bedtime but it just did not work.  Bezukhov was left with no alternative – he moved into the Ferplast with Phineas.

Bezukhov & Phineas did temporarily return to the Manor when the Ferplast was replaced with the scary new Silver Villa, but once the Silver Villa was accepted, the Manor was abandoned once again & reverted to being a daytime play area only.

The Golden Age of the Manor was over.

It is with regret I let the Manor go, but I thank it unreservedly for all the pleasure & comfort it has given.  Though it is no longer here, memories of the Manor will never fade.

Goodbye Manor.

 

 

Repurposing a door

As previously posted, Perry & Lennie had found the way to come out.  Over the following days I noticed they had some difficulty in using the small doorway of the quarantine cage.  That particular cage has doors that slide upwards.  Being a hoarder (!) I remembered I kept the little doors from the old Ferplast.  I used one of these to fashion a small landing platform.  I prized open the hooks enough to slide through the bars & used a rope perch to balance it on, held firm with some paper rope.  It seemed to work well…..

Lennie & Perry on the landing platform

Lennie & Perry

Lennie & Perry

Perry

 

 

Interestingly, if Perry came out without Lennie noticing (he may have been chewing on a toy or something), then Lennie seemed to not know how to then come out.  After this happened a few times, I noticed that when on the threshold of the doorway, Perry would wait until Lennie was paying attention, & then fly out, knowing that Lennie would follow him.  Smart or what?

 

 

Blue newbies – their first fly

About a week after I moved the blue newbies next to the Silver Villa (click here to read that post), I started opening their door for them to come out.  To entice them, I tied raffia around the door opening for them to chew on.  At times they would come tantalisingly close to the open door:

 

Perry & Lennie in front of the open door

Lennie by the open door

Chewing raffia by the open door

 

On the 23rd December 2016, Perry was the first to venture out:

 

Then he was off, followed closely by Lennie:

 

That is always the nerve-wracking part, especially when you know they have not previously had an opportunity for a proper fly.  They did quite a few laps of the room before landing on the manor, where Bezukhov & Dalai were.  That was the cue for more holding of breath.  What happened next is in the next post….

 

Tumbleweeds in the Villa

When we lost Phineas, Bezukhov made it clear he considered the Silver Villa Phinny’s domain.  Though Bezukhov & Phineas originally moved into the Villa at the same time, its location was/is the same as the Ferplast, which was definitely Phinny’s home.  If you recall, when Phineas arrived, Cagney & Bezukhov did not want him to sleep overnight with them so Phineas had a cage all to himself, at least at bedtime.  So it seems that by location, Bezukhov regarded the Villa as Phinny’s.

Bezukhov found it difficult to go in the Villa without Phinny’s presence.  He quickly decided that bedtime would switch back to the Manor.  Dalai followed him there.

During the day, he avoided the inside of the Villa.  On top & around the outside of it was fine, but he was not comfortable going inside.  It took a couple of weeks for him to venture inside to drink the water or chew the iodine block but he generally just took what he needed & then got out – he did not linger.  Gradually, as Dalai spent time in the Villa, Bezukhov’s visits got longer & over the following weeks Bezukhov began to sit in the Villa & even eat in there.  He now appears quite relaxed in there, but bedtime is still in the Manor.

Phinny’s domain

Bezukhov & Dalai eating in the Villa again

Bezukhov & Dalai sitting on Villa feeder

 

Note: Check out the difference in feet colour between Bezukhov & Dalai.

 

 

Sensitive and Complicated

It was one week ago, with a sense of déjà vu, that I noticed Bezukhov’s poops did not look right.  They were sludgy & dark green.

Bezukhov on the window perch

Bezukhov on top of the manor

Bezukhov eating pellets

Instinct told me this was Bezukhov’s reaction to losing Phineas because the poops reminded me of just over a year ago, when we lost Cagney, & Bezukhov stopped eating (click here for post).

I knew Bezukhov was upset by the change in routine, actually, the change in everything, as evidenced by not going into the Villa (Phinny’s domain).  He would go in briefly for water or to chew on the iodine block, but not sit in there.  Also, overnight sleeping has switched, at Bezukhov’s insistence, from the Villa to the Manor.

In the days leading up to the discovery, I had noticed Bezukhov was eating more pellets (in dishes on top of the Villa) but it was not until I saw the dodgy poops that I realised he was barely eating his normal seed mix.  Behaviour-wise, Bezukhov became very loud.  He was constantly shouting & often looking out of the window.  Normally he would shout at things outside but each time I looked I could not see anything; he was just shouting for shouting’s sake.  Sometimes he would go to one of the five seed pots but would only eat one seed before looking distracted & moving on.

Dalai does not want to go to bed

Since Dalai has joined the flock, bedtime has become unpredictable.  Sometimes Dalai will voluntarily join Bezukhov & Phineas in the Silver Villa where they are ready for bed.  Other than those odd occasions, it seems that Dalai does not want to go to bed.  At least he does not want to go to bed in a cage.

Dalai tends to settle on the plant pot stand that is positioned in front of the Villa.  If it gets late & he is still snoozing there, I will give him a prod & he goes into the Villa with the others.  However, quite often, Bezukhov & Phineas will join him on the plant pot stand.  They may have gone into the Villa for bed but when they see Dalai settled outside, they probably think that if he is not coming in to them, they will go out to him.  On these occasions, eventually, either Bezukhov or Phineas will retire to the Villa for a proper sleep & Dalai follows them without much, if any, prodding.

Bedtime on the plant pot stand for three sleepy birdies:

Sleeping on the plant pot stand in front of the Villa where they SHOULD be sleeping

Bezukhov & Phineas join Dalai to all snooze on the plant pot stand

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

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!