| Introducing Peaches! - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| jmcquown |
Hi everyone, long time no see :) My 13 year old parakeet, Rachel, died over
(U.S.) Thanksgiving week. It only took a couple of weeks before I realized
I really wanted another bird in my house. But this time I wanted something
other than the sweet little parakeets I've had most of my life (since 1966).
So I did some research and decided on a lovebird.
I got Peaches the week before Christmas. Note: I call her a "her" simply
because I want to; I'm not having DNA tests done to determine if she's
really a she. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't care one way or the other.
She's about 3 months old. She was hand-fed but then pretty much ignored.
So getting her used to human interaction again requires time and patience,
but she's getting there! Last weekend she decided my shoulder wasn't a bad
place to sit :)
Peaches adores carrots; leave it to her to love the one vegetable I really
don't care for unless it's in stew. She also likes broccoli florets; they
are like a food-toy. Millet spray is an exceptional treat for her; she can
strip it bare in minutes. She eats pellet food (Harrison's).
She loves her toys; particularly the wooden blocks with the bell on the end
and the fluffy string-ball toy. I've got several other wooden/bell toys
reserved because I understand they quickly get bored with toys.
Peaches is bright green with a more orange than peachy face; a bright red
beak and bright blue on the top of her short stubby tail. She's stunning.
Is there a binary pet bird ng where I can post photos of Peaches?
Jill
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| Marco |
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:1MZNb.16$D%.10@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> Hi everyone, long time no see :) My 13 year old parakeet, Rachel, died
over
> (U.S.) Thanksgiving week. It only took a couple of weeks before I
realized
> I really wanted another bird in my house. But this time I wanted
something
> other than the sweet little parakeets I've had most of my life (since
1966).
> So I did some research and decided on a lovebird.
>
> I got Peaches the week before Christmas. Note: I call her a "her" simply
> because I want to; I'm not having DNA tests done to determine if she's
> really a she. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't care one way or the other.
>
> She's about 3 months old. She was hand-fed but then pretty much ignored.
> So getting her used to human interaction again requires time and patience,
> but she's getting there! Last weekend she decided my shoulder wasn't a
bad
> place to sit :)
>
> Peaches adores carrots; leave it to her to love the one vegetable I really
> don't care for unless it's in stew. She also likes broccoli florets; they
> are like a food-toy. Millet spray is an exceptional treat for her; she
can
> strip it bare in minutes. She eats pellet food (Harrison's).
>
> She loves her toys; particularly the wooden blocks with the bell on the
end
> and the fluffy string-ball toy. I've got several other wooden/bell toys
> reserved because I understand they quickly get bored with toys.
>
> Peaches is bright green with a more orange than peachy face; a bright red
> beak and bright blue on the top of her short stubby tail. She's stunning.
>
> Is there a binary pet bird ng where I can post photos of Peaches?
>
> Jill
alt.binaries.pictures.animals
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| jmcquown |
Marco wrote:
> "jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
> news:1MZNb.16$D%.10@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
>> Peaches is bright green with a more orange than peachy face; a
>> bright red beak and bright blue on the top of her short stubby tail.
>> She's stunning.
>>
>> Is there a binary pet bird ng where I can post photos of Peaches?
>>
>> Jill
>
> alt.binaries.pictures.animals
>
Thank you!
Jill
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| pianoharp |
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:1MZNb.16$D%.10@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
Hi everyone, long time no see :) My 13 year old parakeet, Rachel, died over
(U.S.) Thanksgiving week. It only took a couple of weeks before I realized
I really wanted another bird in my house. But this time I wanted something
other than the sweet little parakeets I've had most of my life (since 1966).
So I did some research and decided on a lovebird.
I got Peaches the week before Christmas. Note: I call her a "her" simply
because I want to; I'm not having DNA tests done to determine if she's
really a she. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't care one way or the other.
She's about 3 months old. She was hand-fed but then pretty much ignored.
So getting her used to human interaction again requires time and patience,
but she's getting there! Last weekend she decided my shoulder wasn't a bad
place to sit :)
Peaches adores carrots; leave it to her to love the one vegetable I really
don't care for unless it's in stew. She also likes broccoli florets; they
are like a food-toy. Millet spray is an exceptional treat for her; she can
strip it bare in minutes. She eats pellet food (Harrison's).
She loves her toys; particularly the wooden blocks with the bell on the end
and the fluffy string-ball toy. I've got several other wooden/bell toys
reserved because I understand they quickly get bored with toys.
Peaches is bright green with a more orange than peachy face; a bright red
beak and bright blue on the top of her short stubby tail. She's stunning.
Is there a binary pet bird ng where I can post photos of Peaches?
Jill
Congratulations on your selection of the lovebird. You're right about the
toys, and you may find she'll grab a chain and ring the bell. You really
have to keep handling her or she'll go wild again.
The one thing I found when I had a lovebird was that the shoulder thing
works unless you reach up to touch her. Then she'll snap, kind of a
territorial snap and it hurts but she probably won't draw blood. This was
new to me as I generally raise canaries. If you're used to the more willful
attitude of the hookbills you'll like her. Mine even went on car rides,
peeping out the window and beeping when horns beeped. They're really
one-person birds, and mine wouldn't adapt to my SO/child at all. I was the
only one who could feed or care for her. When I left her at a bird-owning
friend's, she flew off. I'm sure it was because she was trying to find me.
If I wasn't there she got flighty or even mean. Just know that any
fasteners she finds will be undone. They're really smart and do need a ton
of mental stimulation. It's an interesting ride. They'll tell you the
lovebird won't talk, but what I found was she would mimic a lot of different
sounds, sort of add them into her own speech.
I like lovebirds, but probably won't own one again. I do really well with
the tiny songbirds.
- pianoharp
To reply remove the x's
- Ignorance is prolonged infancy,
only deprived of its charm.
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| jmcquown |
pianoharp wrote:
> "jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
> news:1MZNb.16$D%.10@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> She's about 3 months old. She was hand-fed but then pretty much
> ignored. So getting her used to human interaction again requires time
> and patience, but she's getting there! Last weekend she decided my
> shoulder wasn't a bad place to sit :)
>
> The one thing I found when I had a lovebird was that the shoulder
> thing works unless you reach up to touch her. Then she'll snap, kind
> of a territorial snap and it hurts but she probably won't draw blood.
Actually, that's not true, at least not with Peaches. She doesn't even try
to nibble, let alone bite. She lets me stroke her back and her head while
she's sitting on my shoulder. She also likes to be cuddled next to my
heart; I gather that's as soothing to a bird as it is to a child.
> This was new to me as I generally raise canaries. If you're used to
> the more willful attitude of the hookbills you'll like her.
(snippage)
> - pianoharp
> To reply remove the x's
> - Ignorance is prolonged infancy,
> only deprived of its charm.
Oh, she's a tad willful, yes :) But no more or less than the parakeets I
was used to. They could be very loudly demanding and the squawking when
they fussed was sometimes more than I could bear. Thankfully Peaches
doesn't squawk like that. She's got a pretty, clear whistle and a funny
little chirp, but she doesn't "blether" like my parakeets did. By that I
mean she doesn't just sit and talk to herself all the time.
When I come home from work she chirps at me and hangs on the front of her
cage, insisting I say "hi" and pay some attention. I have no problem with
that, but I also have a cat. Persia the cat pays no attention to my bird;
she's used to my having birds. But she's jealous when I talk to Peaches,
and of course I lock her in my bedroom if I'm taking Peaches out of her
cage. The cat loves feather toys and I didn't buy Peaches to become yet
another one of those!
I posted a photo of Peaches on alt.binaries.pictures.animals.
Thanks for the reply. And good luck with your songbirds!
Jill
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| Owly |
Not true with my daughter's 2 pet lovebirds either (one of which is caged
with another bird, and only taken out to play once or twice a month). And
these 2 also love to be cuddled next to my daughter's heart; she has a strip
of fuzzy peach-colored fabric that she wraps them in and lays with them on
her chest and they'll stay there for hours!
--
owly
http://www.ittybittybirdiebites.com - for seedjunkies and MORE!
*** JANUARY 2004 SPECIAL IS UP! (Click on Specials)***
>Got seed junkies? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seedjunkies
Check out this month's Parrotese at http://www.cybernana.com !
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:g6bOb.2214$D%.539@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> pianoharp wrote:
> > The one thing I found when I had a lovebird was that the shoulder
> > thing works unless you reach up to touch her. Then she'll snap, kind
> > of a territorial snap and it hurts but she probably won't draw blood.
>
> Actually, that's not true, at least not with Peaches. She doesn't even
try
> to nibble, let alone bite. She lets me stroke her back and her head while
> she's sitting on my shoulder. She also likes to be cuddled next to my
> heart; I gather that's as soothing to a bird as it is to a child.
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| Cinbad |
Aren't lovebirds fun? So much personality in such a small bird!
Chickie Lovebird enjoys "surfing" my dinner plate; he likes to gnaw on the
meat and play with the pasta, but he REALLY likes sampling my vegetables.
So far, green beans are the far-and-away favorite. He'd rather eat veggies
from my plate than any I put in his food dish!
One way we bond is by his taking a bath from the faucet perched on my hands,
then he relies on me to protect him while he's wet and help him smooth those
wet feathers into place. I was really fortunate that the breeder did such a
good job handraising him, but when he first came home, I would give visitors
a little piece of millet and make Chickie sit on their hand to eat it. To
this day, EVERY visitor to my home gets buzzed by Chickie, whether they want
to or not.
Chickie's favorite toys are small (he's intimidated by big toys) with bells
on them. He likes to chew up balsa wood toys, but he didn't start doing
that until he was a little older. I just kept buying toys until he found
some he liked, and I rotate them in and out. I've got a small box FULL of
rejects.
I hope you enjoy your little bird for many years! (If you haven't taken her
to the vet for a checkup, do so when you can. Chickie had "bad" bacteria
when I brought him home and we cleared it up before it could do any harm!)
Cindy
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:1MZNb.16$D%.10@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> Hi everyone, long time no see :) My 13 year old parakeet, Rachel, died
over
> (U.S.) Thanksgiving week. It only took a couple of weeks before I
realized
> I really wanted another bird in my house. But this time I wanted
something
> other than the sweet little parakeets I've had most of my life (since
1966).
> So I did some research and decided on a lovebird.
>
> I got Peaches the week before Christmas. Note: I call her a "her" simply
> because I want to; I'm not having DNA tests done to determine if she's
> really a she. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't care one way or the other.
>
> She's about 3 months old. She was hand-fed but then pretty much ignored.
> So getting her used to human interaction again requires time and patience,
> but she's getting there! Last weekend she decided my shoulder wasn't a
bad
> place to sit :)
>
> Peaches adores carrots; leave it to her to love the one vegetable I really
> don't care for unless it's in stew. She also likes broccoli florets; they
> are like a food-toy. Millet spray is an exceptional treat for her; she
can
> strip it bare in minutes. She eats pellet food (Harrison's).
>
> She loves her toys; particularly the wooden blocks with the bell on the
end
> and the fluffy string-ball toy. I've got several other wooden/bell toys
> reserved because I understand they quickly get bored with toys.
>
> Peaches is bright green with a more orange than peachy face; a bright red
> beak and bright blue on the top of her short stubby tail. She's stunning.
>
> Is there a binary pet bird ng where I can post photos of Peaches?
>
> Jill
>
>
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| Steve |
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:g6bOb.2214$D%.539@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> pianoharp wrote:
> >
> > The one thing I found when I had a lovebird was that the shoulder
> > thing works unless you reach up to touch her. Then she'll snap, kind
> > of a territorial snap and it hurts but she probably won't draw blood.
>
> Actually, that's not true,
How would you know? I'm positive that Jill's story is true. Why would she
not tell the truth about her own experience with her lovebird?
--
Steve
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| jmcquown |
Steve wrote:
> "jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
> news:g6bOb.2214$D%.539@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
>> pianoharp wrote:
>>>
>>> The one thing I found when I had a lovebird was that the shoulder
>>> thing works unless you reach up to touch her. Then she'll snap,
>>> kind of a territorial snap and it hurts but she probably won't draw
>>> blood.
>>
>> Actually, that's not true,
>
> How would you know? I'm positive that Jill's story is true. Why
> would she not tell the truth about her own experience with her
> lovebird?
Well, birds are all different. Some might be snappish; my last parakeet
was; Rachel did *not* like to be handled. Peaches is a very young lovebird
and she doesn't bite or object to my stroking her head and back when she's
on my shoulder. She's going to be a good companion for many long years, I
can tell :)
Jill
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