A blog about my beautiful budgies.
They are all sweethearts (when they are not causing trouble) but for the purposes of this post, I am singling out Lennie Dennie, because he posed for some very nice photos in front of the red mirror.
Lennie in front of the red mirror
A sweetheart
Sometimes, when the toyboys are otherwise engaged, Phineas will tear himself away from monitoring them (mostly Cagney) & have a swing on the swinging perch. He usually chooses the lower rung to do this. He may even have a chat with the handsome dude in the mirror.
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The lantern mirror has always been popular in this household. Since Atilla kindly removed the clapper off the bell & I later removed the bell, the mirror has undergone some transformations. Here is the latest, adorned with paper rope & little beads:
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And here are Phineas & Thomas checking it out:
Phineas has discovered mirrors. He has one in his cage that is part of his swing. He has only ever given it a cursory thump. Recently, I have noticed him giving it a little more attention, but we are just talking seconds.
When they are all out, I often hanging the swinging perch with mirror from the landing platform. This has four perches on it – plenty for three boys to share. It has a mirror next to the two lower perches. For the first time ever, Phineas has actually given the handsome fellow staring back at him the time of day. This has happened, I suspect, because Cagney & Bezukhov were otherwise engaged (preening and/or snoozing). The handsome fellow in the mirror was probably making eyes at him & was difficult to resist. Fortunately, I managed to get this all on film…..
Atilla has been spending a lot of time on her ttmss swing. Her lump is gradually getting bigger. I think she feels comfortable on that swing. She has started to sit leaning forward with her head underneath the mirror part. The position looks odd but it must help her feel more balanced.
New position on ttmss swing.
I discovered recently that permission is still required to clean the ttmss swing. Silly me thought she might not have the energy to fight me for it, so the other day when she was the other side of the Manor, I whipped it out, turned my back (out of sight, out of mind?) & started cleaning it. I furtively looked around & there she was by my shoulder on the outside rope perch… she then put one foot on my shoulder to get to the ttmss swing. Oh…. she’s still territorial….. I’d better put it back quickly……
The cleaned ttmss swing was swiftly returned & I held out my finger to her to escort her back, which she graciously (I thought) accepted. However, no sooner had she settled on it & checked it was all in working order, she attacked my thumb with a “DO… NOT… TAKE… A…WAY… WITH…OUT… MY… PER… MISS… SION… FIRST!!!”
I got the subtle hint.
That is me told.
Atilla has been unwell for a couple of days. On Sunday & Monday she was very quiet & did not come out of the Manor. Her poops were getting caught on her lump. They seemed to be dribbling out. She had either lost the energy to propel them out away from her lump and/or they were not solid enough. Several times, I had to grab her & remove the poop buildup.
Fortunately she was still eating. I started giving her antibiotics in case she had some kind of infection.
This morning when I uncovered them, she stretched her wings & chirped. This was a very good sign. There was no overnight poop caught on her lump. Another very good sign. During the day she perked up enough to check on the mirror under the manor & even visited the poang chair a few times.
The toyboys have been fussing around her, not leaving her alone for a moment. In fact, I believe that was her main motivation for going to the chair… so she could hide under the tea towel from them for a little peace!
Here are the boys keeping an eye on her:
Atilla is still coping with her lump. It has got bigger again but is still a bit floppy rather than solid like it had been pre-Easter Sunday. She occasionally gets a poop caught on it, but it never stays there long – either I manage to discreetly flick it off whilst it is fresh, or Atilla attacks it during a botty preen.
She gets about, as always, trailing the lump behind her. She does not seem to mind & just hauls it around. When she steps up on my finger from a perch or swing, I have to remember the up & over motion otherwise the lump will get caught.
Here she is on the swing – she got there herself. She was not very relaxed as she saw me with the camera…
She is still making her own way down under the Manor to check out the mirror there…
The other day I caught her exploring the rest of the area under the Manor – she did a circuit of the tray, returning to the mirror & made her way up to the Manor as per usual.
Atilla doing a circuit of the tray under the Manor
Atilla is very independent & I admire her greatly.
Atilla can be an independent girl when she wants to be. She likes to keep tabs on the mirror under the Manor & often requests the HNS to ferry her there & back. However, shockingly, I am not always available to attend to her every whim, so I rigged up a perch & peg system connecting the manor door to the stairway, giving her a pathway to the mirror.
It did not take long for her to make use of it….
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