A blog about my beautiful budgies.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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…..
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?
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.
Note: Check out the difference in feet colour between Bezukhov & Dalai.
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!
Ferplast reinstated
Going back to last October, you will know that I removed the new cage, the Silver Villa, & reinstated the Ferplast as Bezukhov was unwell & it was thought familiarity would help his recovery. The Silver Villa stayed in the room, but was shunted to the corner (the playgym, once again, in my bedroom).
This arrangement worked in that Bezukhov gradually got better. The existing problem though, was giving him his medication. As he was back to sleeping overnight in the Ferplast with Phineas, it meant that was the location for the morning medication chase. Over the weeks, catching him got so difficult that I was led to a new idea; I opened the small side door of the Ferplast & moved the cage up to the big open door of the Manor, draping a sheet around the open areas around the edge. The plan was to chase him through the little side door, into the Manor & it worked!
Phineas on door of Silver Villa
Although flushed with the success of my idea, I knew that it was a one-off. Knowing Bezukhov, once he worked out that ‘escape’ through the side door would just mean he still got caught in the Manor, he simply would not go through the door. By this time, (mid-November) Bezukhov was back to normal, health-wise, so I decided, for my own sanity, to (once again) replace the Ferplast with the Silver Villa, there & then.
So, as from November the 18th, both Bezukhov & Phineas returned to sleeping overnight in the Manor! This meant I had to open them up as early as possible in the morning because by then, Bezukhov needed some respite from Phineas.
They continued to ignore the Silver Villa & at most, sat on the top to eat from the pellet pots there. Into December, Phineas started sitting on the top of the open door – it was a shorter flight to the window perch from there. On the 16th of December, Phineas was sitting on my hand, contemplating a jiggy (it had been awhile) so I gradually moved him into the Silver Villa. He sat in there & preened for a bit although I think that was largely because he did not know how to get out, even though it has a large front door. I had to go in the other room & when I came back he had returned to the Manor.
Here is Phineas on his 16th December visit to the Silver Villa:
Previously, I alluded to Bezukhov & Phineas having a new home. The new home (in waiting) is the Liberta Oregon cage.
The reason I decided to buy (yet) another cage is because since Cagney’s sad passing, Bezukhov has moved into the Ferplast with Phineas. As much as I like many aspects of the Ferplast Piano 6 cage (& it has been popular with all who have lived in it) it is an awful cage for catching a bird – as detailed in my post ‘Medication & the Ferplast‘.
Ideally, they would have both lived in the Manor but it seems it is not suitable for bedtime. I suspect this is because at bedtime, they need to sleep at the highest spot & in the Manor this means the loft area (domed part). The loft area itself is quite small, compared to the rest of the cage & I believe this makes it difficult to share with Phineas. In the old days, the loft area comfortably housed Atilla, Raspy, Cagney & Bezukhov at bedtime so it must be the combination of the size & Phineas.
So, assuming the Manor will no longer be used for bedtime by Bezukhov & Phineas, & Bezukhov’s medication regime is long-term, I felt that a new cage to replace the Ferplast was the way forward.
Liberta Oregon bird cage
After much deliberation, I chose the Liberta Oregon cage. A pet shop about 40 minutes drive away actually had it on display so, unusually, I was able to see it ‘in the flesh’ before buying. On the shop floor I also simulated chasing Bezukhov around it! It has a flat top, so no confined dome area to cause problems at bedtime & more importantly, has a large front door to facilitate a more evenly matched chase. As with all cages there are some design issues but I will address these another time. For now, it had what I was looking for.
So, cage bought, delivered & assembled. It was introduced to Bezukhov & Phineas on the 16th October. I decided to ‘go for it’ & when they were both out of the Ferplast, I did a straight swap; new one in, old one out. I arranged the furniture in the new one as near enough to the Ferplast as possible.
Predictably, they gave the new cage a wide berth. The manor was now the place to be. However, I took the opportunity whilst Phinny was jiggling away on my hand, to gradually move my hand (& him) into the Silver Villa. He was too wrapped up in his jiggying to notice, but when he finished the job, he found he was in his new home. What to do? Find a way out of course! On his way out, he found some millet by the door so had to stop & eat that, as witnessed in this video:
After the vet visit, our overriding concern was for Bezukhov to 1) not lose more weight, & 2) put weight on.
Bezukhov not looking well
On our return, Bezukhov ate a reasonable amount in the Manor that evening. The next morning he barely touched his food & worryingly, neither did Phineas. I held up food to them but they just did not want it. I suspected that Phinny was now picking up on Bezukhov’s stress, hence his loss of appetite too. Though they had started eating seed in the new cage (as well as the Manor) the previous day, I made the executive decision to remove the new cage & reinstate the Ferplast (originally replaced due to the medication problems). I hoped the chopping & changing would not set them back further. I began the eating log primarily for Bezukhov but obviously keeping an eye on Phineas to note unusual behaviour.
Wednesday, 21st October 2015
Barely ate in the morning. Moved new cage out & Ferplast back around 13:30.
Tried to vomit but nothing came out.
Thursday, 22nd October 2015
Throughout the day I checked to see if he would eat vegetables. He had a tiny bit of carrot, some apple & broccoli. He did not want cucumber.
Threw up a bit of apple on window perch.
Another two vomiting episodes although nothing was thrown up. He attempted to carry on eating through the 2nd one.
Poop note: I only noticed 3 solid-ish poops from Bezukhov during the day but overnight poops 22nd/23rd were much better.
Friday, 23rd October 2015
Overnight poops 22nd/23rd looking better
09:50
Every-other-morning medication at 12:00, though started the chase around 11:30.
Manor with cover that I stand underneath
With the manor, I had a routine established regarding giving Bezukhov his every-other-morning medication. Though the cage is big, the large front door allows me access to all areas. To stop Bezukhov escaping out that big door, I wrap a sheet around myself & the cage. Once he is safely contained in my hands, I duck under the sheet, into the light, to administer medication (or more to the point try to administer medication).
Bezukhov would then be returned to the manor where he could take his time to recover.
Since Bezukhov has been sleeping overnight in the Ferplast, things have been tricky. The Ferplast has some good points but sadly the cage is not designed for catching Bezukhov. It has two small doors on the front, that only one hand/arm can fit. If I position my left arm in the left door & my right arm in the right door, I still do not have access to all areas of the cage. For example, if Bezukhov is at the far left, I am unable to bend my left arm around, which means I have to use my right arm but as it is in the right door, it does not fully reach the left side of the cage. [Are you keeping up?!] The alternative is to put the most suitable arm in the appropriate door (left or right) during the chase, but this carries the risk of leaving the unused door open for Bezukhov to cunningly escape through.
Even when I am lucky enough to grab Bezukhov, I then need the other hand to contain him, otherwise he wriggles free in no time. In summary, a stressful job got even more stressful.
I don’t want any medicine!!
So, can I somehow get Bezukhov to sleep overnight in the Manor, particularly the night before medication-morning? Well, if he was to go in there at a convenient time in the evening & I lock him in, he gets stressed being on his own. He rarely goes near the Manor in the evening though as he now eats his bedtime seed in the Ferplast. Phineas generally does not consider sleeping overnight in the Manor & why would he? He has a perfectly comfortable set up in the Ferplast. And do not forget that apart from when Thomas was around, he has been sleeping on his own so is used to it.
So, for the time being we are muddling along…
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