Separation

It was with a heavy heart that I decided to split up my flock.

After the mayhem that I last reported on, I decided they needed some cooling off, some downtime, some peace.  Oh wait…. that may have been me that needed those things…..  Actually, I felt their behaviour left me with little choice.  So, Cagney & Bezukhov have been temporarily moved to my bedroom, leaving Phineas & Thomas in the lounge.  In a way this is reverting back to an earlier stage of quarantine.

The logic of this new arrangement is to see if Phineas & Thomas can get on together & then I can perhaps introduce them to Cagney & Bezukhov (again) as mates.  Perhaps this will make a difference?  Only time will tell.

Fortunately, the toyboys have settled well in the bedroom.  They were out & comfortably flying around the room quickly.  Because of a lack of landing areas they do a lap or two & return to the manor each time.   Surprisingly, so far I have only found one tiny toyboy poop on my pillow.  I would prefer a mint but I am not complaining….

Day one of only Phineas & Thomas in the lounge resulted in Phineas knocking about the room all day by himself whilst Thomas chose to stay in the Ferplast.  Here is Phineas having a shout & I suspect ordering Thomas to come out & join him:

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However, come late afternoon, Thomas emerged.  Phineas got very excited to have some company:

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Thomas was only interested in having a bath though:

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However, after he had dunked himself in the water, he seemed happier to socialise: 

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During the evening they settled on the playgym together.  Unfortunately, they both seemed to have forgotten where their homes were, so as it got quite late, I had to grab them & pop them in their respective cages.

Thomas & Phineas snoozing on the playgym

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That was the routine for the next 3 days… Phineas came out & had to entertain himself until around 5pm, when Thomas came out, had a bath & was then ready for socialising.

So far, so good.  All is calm

Bangs & boogie-woogie

The last couple of evenings have been hectic.  I feel I know what it must be like to run a creche. 

The good news is that puddings & toyboys have not been bothered by any loud bangs from fireworks.

The bad news is that the toyboys are naughty boys!  Cagney is obviously the most naughty, but Bezukhov has not been far behind.  Cagney has been relentlessly pursuing Raspy for a kiss & has even jumped on her back (how disrespectful!)  Raspy is NOT succumbing to his “charms”. 

Last night Raspy was in & out the Ferplast & I was up & down opening & closing the Ferplast cage door, either to lock her in or let her out when she wanted to stretch her wings.  Surprisingly, for most of her time in the Ferplast, Bezukhov kept her company. Bezukhov was pestering Raspy more than usual, but that’s allowed as he is her boyfriend but she still “squiggled” at him to get out of her face… off her tail… & off her back….

Cagney appeared a little lonely not having his mate to run around with, but it was his own fault for not leaving Raspy alone!  He still gave attention to Atilla but even there he was naughty, force-feeding her regurgitated seed that landed up all down her face, neck & back.  He’s been such a handful!

Several times, yesterday evening, Bezukhov & Raspy boogie-woogied in the comfort & relative privacy of the locked Ferplast.  That incensed Cagney as he desperately wanted to join in.  At one point, when Cagney was chasing Raspy around the Manor, I managed to grab him & lock him in the Ferplast on his own.  There was a collective sigh of relief in the Manor.  I did not have the heart to lock him up for long though, as he was pacing/flying & squarking like mad.  As soon as I let him loose again, he made a beeline for Raspy.

The end result was bedtime in separate cages: Atilla & Cagney in the Manor & Raspy & Bezukhov tucked up in the Ferplast.

Swapping puddings?

Occasionally, the toyboys confuse things. 

We know that Bezukhov & Raspy love each other.  We know that Cagney & Atilla love each other.  There are times Bezukhov cannot resist having a flirt with Atilla & this riles Cagney.  We also know Cagney likes to chase Raspy for a kiss despite Bezukhov flapping his wings in warning.  Neither pudding is interested in the potential change in partner so nothing comes of it, though I do expect one or other toyboy to be sporting a black eye one day….

However, there are the exceptions & these are when both boys do not seem to mind swapping puddings…..  The problem is, the girls do not want to swap!  It’s like the boys have thrown their keys in the dish but the girls are not picking up…  The girls can get a bit stressed in such a situation because they do not even have their boyfriend to help fight their corner because he is too busy trying to get off with her sister.  It’s all very fraught. 

This evening, Raspy seemed to be at a slight disadvantage as I think she has hurt her wing a little (she can still fly).  After about an hour of trying to diffuse the situation, I introduced Raspy to the Ferplast & she readily went in.  Cagney was prowling around on top of the cage so I put the cover over it.  After a short time, Bezukhov was looking for Raspy so I opened the Ferplast door & he went in to be with her. 

Calm has finally returned.  Raspy has tried out all perches/swings in the Ferplast but I think she may settle on one of the swings for the night.  Bezukhov still has not decided where to sleep but he has been stretching his wings so I am sure he will settle soon.  In the Manor, Atilla is still wrestling with the mirror but that is normal (for the last week at least) & Cagney is already perched on top of a swing. 

I will keep the two couples separated for a day as I will not have time to keep an eye on them tomorrow.  Hopefully Raspy’s wing will also be better too.