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Sigma Blu Report | 11/17/2014 12:27 pm

scary avie.

vin chat Report | 07/17/2014 6:01 pm

*your;
Damn auto-correct.
I hate technology.

vin chat Report | 07/17/2014 6:00 pm

Dude.
Just gotta say. . .
you're avatar is awesome.
Good day.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 2:42 pm

What type of flight do you have them in? I'd divide the flight if you cannot build another one.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 12:46 pm

That's territorial behavior, over mating. You might want to thin that flock somehow, that's not healthy for her to be bald constantly.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 12:21 pm

Right, you have a very mild-tempered breed and they have each other for society purposes. You have relatively tame wild birds. I prefer to cultivate more pet quality in my animals, so it's all in the approach. Misha and Wasabi are bonded little buddies, they even feed each other but Misha looks to us to offer what might be a good treat (he will sample nearly anything) then he offers it to Wasabi because Wasabi is so hands-off but he shrieks while Misha gets treated to let us know he notices that. Haha. If there is nobody home but me and I am in my room, they have each other for company but they still call for me every now and again to make sure I am still ok. I love birds, there is a handfed lutino cockatiel at the store right now, just off the dropper and it is all I can do not to snatch it up!

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 11:49 am

Birdkeeping is one of my acquired skills, yes. I never keep a flighted bird for a pet, wing-clipping is easy and there are many problems and potential problems that can be addressed by clipping a few feathers. Birds cannot be domesticated, and they're evolved prey animals so the entire approach to keeping them for pets is different from keeping domesticated predators and non-predators. They're intelligent creatures, and learn that if they can fly, they don't have to listen. This automatically places you below them in the pecking order, which is counter-productive if you want a pet who behaves, or if you want to teach it tricks. Naturally some birds will comply regardless because their personality is such that they will comply, but depending upon breed you may be just asking for it if you refuse to clip. Example: non-hand-fed lovebirds. Even Wasabi refuses to listen to simple commands as soon as his flight feathers are long enough to get loft and while he's never bitten once cornered, he's gotten himself into spaces he might have injured himself in. My female lutino Tweety was absolutely vicious if she could get away with it, even without being flighted we had to keep her away from anything she could climb that placed her over our heads because she would NOT listen if she was above us and would bite repeatedly. With her wings clipped she knew who was the boss and was probably the most talented lovebird I have ever owned as far as learning tricks. She was an excellent pet, but she took work.
A bird that is flighted will follow certain instincts that come with the ability as well. If they ever manage to escape, even accidentally, flying is just what they'll do and good luck getting your pet back alive. A pet bird has not been trained by its flock to survive in the wild, and after it flies for miles and miles then what? It's likely to die, especially if it has not learned that humans are to be obeyed. A bird that is not flighted will climb, and that is also natural behavior, so you are not harming them by not allowing them to fly. Even with a clipping they can still glide down if they climb up high. They do not need to fly to obtain food, and they will exercise by climbing plus a bird who escapes and climbs something outside can be retrieved by calling a rescue service or the fire department.
I would never, ever, keep a flighted cockatiel, because they are a breed whose flight pattern involves the automatic urge to go UP. An escaped cockatiel will head for the sky and be gone. Not worth the risk, although they're a very mild-tempered breed and may not require clipping to remain obedient.
Cockatiels breed in holes, you don't want to give them birdhouses so much as nest boxes. The best way to increase pet quality is to remove the eggs, place them in an incubator and then hand-feed the hatchlings without exposing them to adult birds. That way they will imprint on humans and automatically look to them as their own flock members. Like Misha, he was handfed, and as soon as he realized he was "bird", he started calling us all "bird". It's an asston of work though, and you could try pulling the hatchlings as soon as they hatch in the nest for handfeeding if the parents don't shred you during the attempt. The key is to get them before their eyes open, like remember the old cartoons when the egg would hatch and the baby would see a dog or something and go "mama", then follow the dog around? It really works that way.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 10:28 am

Paired lovebirds make for terrible pet quality, that's why they're called lovebirds. They prefer the company of their own kind in a very strong way. I have never owned two lovebirds at once for that reason, plus they are extremely strong-willed (read: If I can fly, I will not listen to you and bite viciously), tend toward territorial behavior and toe-biting is one of their SOPs. My Wasabi is a very mild-tempered lovebird and he is missing the first two joints of the longest toe on both feet to prove it. He's unable to cling to a finger properly without the length and claws on those toes, more like he's balanced there, so he's really nervous about hands. We think he may have had to be grabbed a lot to save him from his clutchmates doing worse damage or possibly he had the toes amputated but in any event he has issues with hands coming at him but he is not territorial at all and has never bitten even once. He's a good companion, though, he'll do a lot of "happy stretch" when we are around and sit on the closet perch and watch anime with you (he calls it cartoons, all animation is cartoons to Wasabi - his favorite is Bleach, particularly Ichigo) and he talks and whistles but cuddling? No way.
Now the Quaker on the other hand is a real attention-sponge but he doesn't like petting. Misha wants to sit on you, preferably your shoulder, and give running commentary on whatever you're doing. He demands to be permitted to help do laundry, which for him consists of grabbing washcloths or underwear and yanking them by the edge until they are "folded". He's a gas.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 9:54 am

Who, my old orange-wing? She was really partial to males. She was unimpressed with me, that's how I'd put it. I was good enough to feed her and pluck feather sheathes. My parrotlet was my biggest fan, she didn't like anybody but me and my then-stepson. Everybody else was ignored or bitten.

Lightning the Lulu Report | 06/27/2014 9:03 am

Oh yea, my birds said all kinds of things. And whistles, you know, Bridge Over The River Kwai, Andy Griffith, stuff like that. The orange wing (sorry I typed the wrong Amazon, I recently saw a yellow head and it must have stuck in my mind) was an adopted bird who had been owned by a Hispanic family and she could mimic a male voice in Spanish. Then she fell in love with my roomie and started cooing "I love youuuuu~" at him, and yelling "Shut up! Be quiet!" at his girlfriend...they kept the bird. I am sure she's happier but maybe not so much the GF.