Who's A Bad Bird?

[JAS_Photo]

The T.P. bandit

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4261096630_dbed975037_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jas_photos/4261096630/)

[Bambi]

not bad, just curious as to what is under all those layers. :D

Sadie has tons of personality!

I have to ask though: what is up with her feathers?

[JAS_Photo]

She plucks them out except for the ones she needs to fly and the ones on her head which she can't reach. Her and Healey both do it. Not sure why. She has been to the Vet (and they have an avian vet) and they can find nothing physically wrong with them. It could be a hormonal thing, Sadie is bonded to me, I bought Healey for Sadie so she could have a birdie friend but she hates him and chases him off his favourite toys. Healey is a sweet, shy guy who is not completely tame and would like Sadie to be a friend but she will have nothing to do with it. On Christmas day they were beaking each other but the lovey doveyness only lasted about five minutes.

Owning birds is kind of like having four year olds with wings, honestly. :)

[tomorrowstreasures]

neat story! cute capture!! silly girl.

[Mad Aussie]

Nice clear shot!

Someone once told me the feather thing was a mental issue they develop from being caged up but I have no idea of that's remotely true or not.

[JAS_Photo]

Well in a way they are right, M.A. but that is a little simplified to what really goes on. All parrot pets are really just tame wild animals. They have not been bred for long enough to be domesticated pets in the same way that say, budgies are. Wild birds spend their day flying around and foraging for food plus parrots are a social animal and almost always are with the flock or if they have a mate are together 24/7. The issue of feather plucking is never seen in the wild. When you have a bird, particularily one that is bonded to you, in it's bird understanding, it believes it should be with you all the time. However, in the real world, that is not possible. Because of my work schedule I thought it would be in Sadie's best interest for her to have a friend, but that did not work out, sadly.

On a good note, I will say that both birds each have a huge day cage and separate night cage for sleeping; they both get organic specially formulated bird pellets as well as fresh veggies, and sprouted grains. I also make them "birdie bread" that Healey goes nuts for and they have tons of natural chewable toys to keep them busy. They both get a lot of out of cage time, especially Healey since he will play in the bird area without getting into trouble unlike someone else we know. :) Oh, I forgot to add that they are intelligent, manipulative little beings much like your usual four year old.

[Mad Aussie]

Fascinating! I don't know much about keeping birds at all.

[MoinMoin]

What a beautiful nice sinner ;)