The Problem with Dirt

Last Wednesday it was a beautiful sunny morning, and as usual the lovebirds where sunning themselves on the laundry rack in our bedroom. Every now, and again, they would jump onto the window sill to drink from their water dish, bite a few leaves off the little eatible plants (peppermint, basil, celery, and lettuce), play with their toys, or climb the curtains -- mornings in the bedroom are much enjoyed by the birds.

Now, as it happened 'Zeus decided to join in the fun. He too was interested in the little peppermint plant and I thought he was merely munching on a leaf or two... but as it turned out he was more interested in munching on the DIRT -- although I would not learn this until later.

That afternoon 'Zeus seemed a bit lethargic/sleepy and not as energetic as usual... also he was very puffed up! He was still eating and drinking, but I was concerned as the former are "red-flag" signs that a bird is sick. As the evening progressed, all 'Zeus wanted to do was sleep, and I noticed that his droppings were very loose.

Thursday morning, he still had all of the same symptoms, so I decided to make an appointment at the vet. (Night Owl Hospital in Vancouver, Dr. Anne MacDonald). The doctor took one look at Zeus and knew right away he had stomach problems -- first of all, he spit up water as soon as she held him, and second his crop was swollen with water. Apparently birds with stomach problems drink excessive amounts of water. Take note! She also noted that he was overly puffed, and wanting to sleep. Because I was uncertain as to what had made him sick (Was it the peppermint? Or perhaps the stick or basket he had chewed earlier? Maybe dirt? Zeus likes to chew lots of things... ) she decided it best to x-ray him and keep him for a day or two to treat him with fluids and a nice warm box. Later that afternoon, Dr. MacDonald confirmed that the x-ray showed "particular" matter in 'Zeus' digestive tract. Furthermore, it was in his stomach, so he had eaten it recently -- the doctor figured it was probably dirt that had upset his "tummy".

The next day, when I went to visit 'Zeus at the hospital, I was pleased to notice he was looking quite a bit better. Still a little puffed, but less sleepy and more energetic. By Saturday, 'Zeus was his feisty little self, and one of the vetenary staff confided that little 'Zeus had escaped from his cage in the back room!! Teehee, I was excited to know that I was not the only one he pulls that trick on. I was allowed to bring 'Zeus back home with a strict medicine regime. Three medicines: anti-lead (as a precaution against lead poisoning), antibiotics, and a laxitive (to get that dirt out!). Also, 'Zeus was to be kept nice and warm, and be given a millet stick and his favorite treats while he recovered. I was certainly ready to comply.

Upon arriving home, I expected to put 'Zeus in his cage for the afternoon -- but 'Zeus had other plans! I supposed he did not appreciate his confinement at the hospital, so as soon as I opened the carrying cage he slipped pass my hand and started flying circles around the house. First to visit "little bird in the mirror" in the living room, then to the laundry rack in the back bedroom. Back and forth, back and forth -- the lovies must have thought he was behaving a little loopy. Finally he settled in on the mirror perch, and I didn't have the heart to move him into his cage right away. I set up his heat lamp, and placed a millet in his cage for later per doctors orders. I was yet to discover how many "warwounds" I would receive trying to administer all of 'Zeus' medicines -- my goodness can he CHOMP down on a finger when being forced to suffer the indiginity of being held in a hand. Finally, I resorted to catching him in a dish cloth and being very careful to avoid putting my fingers near his beak. My dish cloth is now filled with lots of tiny holes.

Lesson learned: birds should not eat dirt!

The House Guest (Part 2)

The birds continued to interact with eachother tentatively over the next couple of days. I kept noticing that Ernie was trying to get close to 'Zeus, but I was unsure of his motivations so I observed the birds carefully.

It should be noted that 'Zeus came to our house with a head covered in little pin-feathers* from his most recent molt. It turned out that Ernie had taken notice of this fact, and was continuing to approach 'Zeus, until 'Zeus would let him preen his head. After a few minutes, 'Zeus came to realize this was a very satisfying experience and let Ernie fix him up. I was delighted to see the two birds interacting so nicely, and grabbed camera! It took Ernie several preening sessions to get 'Zeus looking "presentable".

Meanwhile, Joey continued to keep his distance -- having only met Ernie little over a month ago (stay tuned for the recap of Joey's arrival to our house), I think Joey was being protective of his new friendship with Ernie, and uncertain of what to do about this new bird in the house stealing Ernie's affections. I wondered if Zeus was able to distinguish between Ernie and Joey (since they look so much alike), and if he was at all confused why sometimes "the yellow bird" would be friendly, and at other times standoffish.

Interestingly, all three birds seemed to view both cages as common property, or more accurately as "mine". It did not take very long for Ernie to enter 'Zeus' cage and try out his food dish, nor 'Zeus Ernies'. In fact, when he is out, 'Zeus always seems to go back to the lovies' cage, rather than his own for refreshment -- possibly because it is more accessible? I have had endless amounts of entertainment watching three birds try to share two food dishes -- especially 'Zeus and Joey who require a larger space gap between eachother, than between themselves and Ernie. Despite the larger size of the lovies, often as not, it would be 'Zeus chasing the lovies away from their food dishes, and even out of their cage. I soon came to learn that 'Zeus was a little bird with big 'tude.

Things where going along great with our little guest until he decided to chow down on some dirt... -- to be continued.

*Note on Pin-Feathers - When a bird grows a new feather, it comes in wrapped in a Keratin Sheath. In most cases, the bird will pull the itchy sheath off, and open the feather him or herself. It is very difficult, however, for birds to remove these coverings from feathers on the face and head. This is where another bird comes in handy!

The House Guest (Part 1)

'Zeus Zaenker, a parrotlet, has been a guest in our home for the last month. His "human" Christina (sister of my sister-in-law) has been away in Germany. I was immediatley charmed by this little guy -- his baby chirps, dash and crash flying style and 5x my size personality. And, as a bonus, this little guy knows how to eat his veggies (something my lovies stanchly refuse to do).

My birds' response to 'Zeus has been very interesting. From the beginning, Ernie (on the right) was desperate to interact with little 'Zeus. Not sure of Ernie's intentions, this led me to move 'Zeus' cage into another room for his protection. For the next two weeks, however, Ernie made every effort to get into our computer room where 'Zeus was being kept. He would do flyby's to see if the door had been left open by accident, and when the door was closed he would linger outside waiting for his opportunity to slip in.

On one occasion, the door was almost closed, but a towel hanging from a laundry hook placed on top of the door, blocked Ernie from being able to fly through the opening. I kept hearing flapping noises from outside the door, but didn't really pay attention. Next thing I know, Ernie has climbed the towel, and slipped into the room from the tiny space at the top of the door. As soon as he made it into the room, he would immediately fly over to "little bird's" cage and stare at him before we shooed him out of the room.

Finally, my husband and I decided to do a controlled release of all the birds to see what would happen when they were allowed to intermix. For quite awhile Ernie and 'Zeus would play 'chase and dash' (i.e., one bird would fly over to the other, causing that bird to fly away), while Joey observed everything from a distance. After several days, the birds were willing to come closer together.

-- to be continued --

Ernie on a Seed Raid

I opened the seed bucket to get Zeus (an adorable blue parrotlet who is staying with us for the month) a pumpkin seed... next thing I know my little munchkin is in the bucket!

My Little Nightengale!

Ernie will come to visit in the evenings and sernade me with a recap of the day's events. This involves much chirping, fluffing, and head bobbing.

Gotta Start Somewhere

Heya Everyone!

This is my first entry... not sure what to say right now... but tune in later if you want to hear some ramblings about my adorable love birds Ernie and Joey.

Celina