Got Ears?

[JadeIcing]

Wow nice space for her!

 

[Yurusumaji]

Thank you! It's great to get some feedback on it. We have notebook pages full of our crazy ideas on how we were going to go about building her new floor. After more than a week of planning we got everything to come together and we couldn't be happier with it.

Michiko seems to be happy with it, too. I'm sure she likes the cool flooring, especially with the way the weather has been. Hubbs was really excited when he saw the little hay rack I made for her. He would always get upset before because she'd poop in her hay. LOL!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Really nice cage area for Michiko. My elop Daisy would jump over two panels also. Now before I take of the bunny's I put up a baby gate in the hallway to keep her from running all over the house.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Thanks Dave! It looks like she's been staying in there the past couple nights (or at least mostly staying in there), so no roof yet. So long as she goes back in to potty, I don't really mind that she gets out. The room is entirely rabbit-proofed, the only bad part is if she is coming out then I can't put a fan or any loose items in there. So we'll see.

Michiko is in her own room and her door has to stay shut at all times. If the cats gets in, she'll poop in Michiko's litter box because she's not very bright. Or maybe she's spiteful. It makes Michiko very grouchy.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Have I mentioned how much I hate living in a townhouse? We have decent space, but I really hate the fact that it is constantly invaded by strangers I didn't invite over.

We received a notice Friday that some men from an electric company would be here today to change out some of our outlets. Unfortunately, hubbs is on overnights from 5 p.m. - 6 a.m. and these guys tried to come by this morning. They didn't get in, even with the key. See, I'm a genius and I put the chain up because I knew they'd just try to barge right in. Sorry, but it's effing creepy when 2 strange men try to enter my home while I'm sleeping. Not to mention we have some really nice things and I'd love it if those nice things were still there when I got up. We have been robbed twice since moving to this city, so I trust no one.

I have never let someone in during the morning hours. Never, not once since we moved here which was more than a year ago. I have had people try, but I have never had anyone succeed. You would think they'd get the hint. Instead of getting the hint they woke poor hubbs up with a phone call asking us what was going on with the door being bolted. Does no one else find it odd that I'm being interrogated for locking strangers out of my home?

The good news (or maybe bad news) is we're leaving in January 2012 (I know, such a very long time ... I cry at night just thinking about it) to go to Maryland for hubbs re-training. We'll be there for 3 months and then we'll be moving to our next base. I'm so ready to be out. I wanted to rent a house, but it just didn't happen because hubbs thought we were going to be out in June. You can see how well that worked out. I have to admit, I'm really PO'ed that I have to wait until January to bail on this place. If (and this is one huge 'if') we get the base I want next, it will be worth the wait. We're hoping to get Patrick AFB in Florida so we can buy a house there and be ready to retire in it when hubbs is done with his military career. I am so ready to buy a house. So, so ready.

I told hubbs, "When [the electricians] leave I am officially on vacation." They're gone, I'm on vacation. It has been such a long weekend! All the dishes are done, the house is mostly tidy, there's clean clothes. I dusted the electronics and now I'm taking a break until Friday when it's time to start critter cages again. Lol.

OMG. I woke up today, came downstairs and the gliders' door was wide open! Poor hubbs came home and took out their food dish and forgot to close their door. They had been trying to get into the ant traps, but thankfully it looks like they weren't able to get anything out of it. I checked their pouch to make sure they both returned to their cage and they did. I almost had a heart attack, I was so scared I'd lost my little boys.

What a long day. I am so ready for Wednesday. Hubbs has the day off and I'm thinking maybe we'll go unwind and do something fun. Oohh, we should visit the zoo. Yeah, I think we're going to go to the zoo.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Two boxes of goodies arrived today! These are just the things we got for Michiko, but there was also a bird toy in there for Phoenix, a seed catcher for Phoenix's cage and cage wipes for the glider cage.

Michiko has already received the mat and one of the Veggie Salad Bowls. She pulled some hay from the salad bowl before I could pour in the veggies, but now she won't touch it. Lol! She also nibbled on her mat a bit. Seems daddy forgot to feed her last night so I filled her bowl and hay rack for her and now she won't pay attention to her goodies at all. :rollseyes Such a goofy rabbit.

I'm super excited to see if she likes the Teach & Treat toy. It seems like such a neat idea and a rabbit owner gave it a good review, but I'm sure it has a lot to do with the temperament of the rabbit. Phoenix is a bird who is supposed to love to forage, but I gave her foraging toys and she ignored them as hard as she could.

Who needs some fancy salad bowl when you've got yummy pellets to eat?

 

[Yurusumaji]

Does anyone else enjoy puzzles?

I love to do puzzles and I was waiting for the chance to do my black bear puzzle for almost a year before I realized my table was more than big enough. :rofl: So I got started on it the other day and hubbs and I knocked it out in less than 24 hours, which surprised me. Now I need a new puzzle.

The black bear puzzle was my choice because we have a small local zoo here, whose marketing gimmick is that visitors can buy crackers and feed the animals with them as they walk through the zoo. One of the black bears there really loves the crackers and every time we visit the zoo he's sitting in the same spot at the fence with his paws through the grid pulling up the crackers people throw to him. He is hubbs' favorite animal at the zoo and he has made hubbs very partial to black bears. I've glued the puzzle together and we'll be framing it soon.

My animal is the manatee, so I ordered this puzzle today.

I've only found one rabbit puzzle that has 500 pieces or more, but I'll keep looking.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

My wifes parents like to do lots of puzzles, she likes to do them too, but the cat won't leave a puzzle alone until all the pieces are on the floor.

Good luck with your hubby's next assignment. Having been in your situation I can definitely understand.

 

[Yurusumaji]

I've had cats wreck my puzzles before, very frustrating. I push the card table away from things Nyx can get on so she can't jump up there and tear the puzzle apart. Puzzles relieve my stress. Cats wrecking my puzzles adds to my stress. :rofl:

Thank you. I'm really anxious to find out where we're going, but it's been so annoying because the time frame until I leave just keeps getting longer. Makes me want to scream sometimes.

 

[Marrie]

Heh, I disliked that about apartments too - "oh btw, strange people will be coming in your apartment on X day" and ... and they NEVER knock, or they'll knock once lightly then just barge in. I mean, hello? My living space, show some common courtesy rather than barging in on me in a towel people.

The puzzle looks awesome, I like to do them, but boyfriend thinks they're dumb so I have no one to do them with.

Hope you get the base in FL! I grew up there, it's gorgeous and being able to go to the beach anytime you feel like it is awesome.

Birds don't know how to forage naturally - they have to be taught, in the wild their parents teach them but in captivity it's up to us. So, you have to start them out with really easy foraging, like throwing dry pasta in a plate over some food, then gradually increasing the stuff in the plate (add some beads next, then some wooden blocks, etc). Or a box/paper cup with nothing in it but food, then start putting newspaper into it gradually.

Thanos ignored every forage toy too, he still ignores the hard ones, but some bamboo finger traps with treats up them make for a fun (messy) time for him after I taught him how to get hidden food. lol

 

[Yurusumaji]

No one ever told me I had to teach Phoenix how to forage, they always just told me to get foraging toys to exercise her brain and that she'd figure them out. How lame.

Thank you! We want to buy a house in Florida and retire there. I have family there and they love it. I can't stand the cold so I'm keen to stay south, just not in Texas.

Your beau is nuts, we love to do puzzles together! They're great stress-relievers and we feel very accomplished when we finish one.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Michiko hasn't been out for a few days because of the craziness going on with hubby's 12-hour overnight shifts. Those shifts are over now though, so Michiko got to come downstairs and play tonight. She is so happy! She has been binkying and doing the Bunny 500 since hubbs brought her down. Not to mention destroying her broccoli.

I finally got to use the Teach 'N Treat! Michiko figured out Level 1 really easily, I didn't even manage to get a photo because she figured it out so fast. The three pieces in there now are Level 2, which she hasn't figured out yet.

LOL! She was turning around and scratching at the chair at the same time. My photo was so opportune I got one where it looks like she pooped out a whole broccoli stalk! :laugh:

 

[Marrie]

Some birds will take to foraging naturally, some won't... most captive ones won't. They get food in their bowl, so they see no reason to work for their food when they can just go get it. I put treats that Thanos doesn't get any other time (millet spray) into the toys and we play a few games with it. His favorite is when I move the container - he loves to crawl into it so I purposefully leave it out but move it to a new spot every few days. When he finds it, he gets to eat a bit then I move it again. Best forage toys are ones you can make yourself with stuff around the house, cardboard and paper mainly. Or bamboo finger traps with a treat in the middle.

I'm a FAQ mod on a parrot forum - the "my bird won't forage" question is VERY common, because everyone gets told the same thing... buy foraging toys, with no mention that you should start out slow with them. Here is a site that is very informative on how to teach a bird to forage, some instructions on basic home made toys, etc: http://www.feathersandforage.co.uk/?page_id=647

I can't stand the cold either, so I don't blame you. Snow / ice is no fun!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Michiko is a smart bunny, love the photo's so cute!

 

[Yurusumaji]

Wow, thank you so much. I can't believe I never got wind of this. It makes perfect sense, but the girl we got Phoenix from seemed plenty knowledgeable and even fearful about Phoenix going home with us because we weren't experienced bird owners. Alas, she gave me a great lecture of horrible advice and left a lot of important things out! I should know better, I am usually the type of person to do my own research.

I grew up in Michigan, but my circulation to my digits is bad so my tolerance for the cold is incredibly low. Plus I love the water and the ocean, not to mention manatees. I want to work with manatees some day so Florida is a great destination for me.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Michiko is so smart, right as I was reading your comment she figured out Level 2 all on her own! I'm really excited that she's showing interest in the toy even when no one is around her to show her the treats. I'm thinking this toy was a good investment for us. Thanks, Dave!

 

[Marrie]

You're welcome. There is a lot people don't get told when they get a bird and a lot of bad advice floating around about them! There is a "bird rescue" near me that was selling a ROUND cage as "great for a pair of cockatiels or budgies" .. *grumblegrumble*

Michiko is so cute in her pics! That toy looks interesting - such a smart bunny to have already figured two levels out!

 

[Yurusumaji]

Yeah, I was looking at X-pens and I saw the toy in the Drs. Foster & Smith catalog. It seemed neat so I checked out the reviews. Michiko is very smart and willing to exercise her mind, so I got it hoping she would be able to figure it out and enjoy playing with it. So far I seem to be right, thankfully.

Oh goodness. Even I know not to use a round cage. How sad.

I'm really cranky because the girl who was giving us information on Phoenix told me that if she didn't listen to me when I told her to step up that I should push my finger into her belly. I don't know if that's the norm, but it made Phoenix into a nipper. She doesn't full-on bite, but she hates being forced to do anything and I've had to restart our bonding process and letting her come to me. She's doing really well with it which is great, but it agitates me that I had to go through this to begin with. Birds are such complicated pets. Lol.

 

[Marrie]

Her advice was accurate, sorta. She should have prefaced her statement with "give the bird time to adjust and bond with you before you try to make her step up" - she should have also mentioned that green cheeks are a very nippy species and they require certain training techniques to stop that behavior. To train step up what I do is take a treat and get the bird to eat out of my hand over a few days, then move the treat up my arm until they HAVE to step up to get it. When they step onto my hand, say "step up". Though you can touch their bellies, very lightly, no more than a brush against the feathers and it will trigger a step up response, I normally don't recommend it until your bird trusts you enough to put up with it. You can also clicker train for step up.

My method of training took about a month, but he steps up for me when I ask now no matter if he's being difficult and not wanting to go to bed or not. He also learned to trust me, so I can cup my hands over his wings to hold him, etc without stressing him out or getting bitten. I always take positive reinforcement over forcing an animal to do something they aren't comfortable with, it seems to work well, which is what it sounds like you are doing now with Phoenix.

It sounds like she gave you information on how to care for a conure... but gave it as if she was giving you a conure you'd had a while and was fully adjusted/trained/knew everything it needed to know. Rather than talking to a new bird owner with a new bird.

I was watching youtube videos of bunnies with that toy you got Michiko - so cute! I need to get one for Powder, see if he could figure it out. He's always moving boxes and stuff around lol I bet he'd just knock all the plastic things out of the toy though for the food, he's a bit of a wrecker when it comes to food.

 

[Yurusumaji]

Phoenix is very people-oriented. The first couple days I let her come to me it took a long wait, but I just sat still and talked to her quietly and she eventually came to me. I'm now learning that if I just wait a second she'll happily come to me on her own.

Trying the other methods right off the bat made her wary of fingers, so newcomers can't handle her at all because she'll just bite them really hard and run away. I think I'm much happier just letting her do it on her own. We do coax her with treats if she's being fussy about going back in the cage, but in general she's very well-behaved. She's great with hubby, but that's because I was doing all the training so he never got pitted as a bad guy who makes her do stuff. LOL! He just gives her treats and lets me get bit when I try to feed her.

Things are way better between Phoenix and I, but I wish we could have been happy together from the very start. Thankfully I didn't let it deteriorate to a point where we had to start from scratch, so a little patience on my part has gone a long way in rebuilding a trusting relationship between us. I have to count my blessings. If Phoenix didn't adore being around people so much I know it could have taken many months to rebuild a good relationship with her. She really is a sweet girl.