The cockatiels love Star Trek: The Next Generation. Every night we play an episode of TNG and the cockatiels make happy chirping noises. Conner is especially fond of the ship noises. When the ship beeps, he beeps back.
Here's a picture of Audrey on his favorite perch. He's been hanging out there a lot, which is good because using different perches is better for his grip. Sometimes his grip is weak. I think it's a combination of age and overgrown toenails. I hate clipping his nails because he gets really stressed out when he's wrapped in a towel.
Here's a picture of Conner in ultimate snuggle mode. His favorite thing is for me to put him in front of a mirror and pet his back. I'm so glad that he likes this, because Audrey is cranky and will only let me touch him if I'm also scratching his head.
You can see that Conner is almost completely clipped in this picture. He flies really well, even with his wings being clipped. A lot of bird owners believe that birds should be fully flighted. They think that if birds have to be in captivity, they should at least be able to fly. Someday, I would like for Conner to be fully flighted, but it's not practical in this house.Conner is afraid of everything. He's terrified of brooms, the vacuum, the elliptical machine, any large inanimate object. The birds outside scare him too. This is a significant problem in the house we're renting because it's on the ocean, where water birds fly all day, and the house is practically all windows. We also have a lot of hawks around here. So someday when we move, we'll be looking for a house with fewer windows. Then maybe Conner will be able to fly.
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Thank you for asking about Sugar Franklin! Today is her 11th hatchday.
ReplyDeleteShe was in renal failure (I was at the vet's the minute the door opened on Friday) because she just seemed "off." No one expected her to live the weekend. But I brought her home Sunday night! Have to give her meds twice a day (you can imagine how well that's going). She is still very, very sick; only eating a few grams of millet a day and very little water. I've taken to "forcing" formula and pedialyte on her via syringe, along with the meds.
Back to the vet tomorrow for gavage, meds, and hydration (they do it so much better than I do). I was so devastated I was going to lose her last weekend that each extra day I have is a miracle. She could still die at any time so I try not to harbor false hope, but she made it to her hatch day. :-)
I love it when they trust you so much that they'll close their eyes during head pets! Very adorable pics!
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