BGM Aruba

[Auggie's Dad]

Not to hijack the thread, but interested in a quick opinion: Auggie would also sell his soul for a peanut, they are a regular treat for him. What do you all think would be too much as far as peanuts go for a conure?

 

[TexDot33]

I don't feed peanuts for the fact of the nasty bacteria that COULD be inside the shells. I find almonds and walnuts to be better options. Hamlet and Mac each get one a day ~ if they have been really active, then I will give them two. With Hamlet's wings being clipped right now, ideally (in my mind anyway) she should be down to one every-other-day.

 

[Alsquared]

Not to hijack the thread, but interested in a quick opinion: Auggie would also sell his soul for a peanut, they are a regular treat for him. What do you all think would be too much as far as peanuts go for a conure?

AuggiesDad, I was told by the avian vet to limit peanut intake to 2-3 per day, so maybe with a smaller bird, less...

 

[Auggie's Dad]

sounds good, thanks. He usually gets one full peanut in the shell (with two nuts in it) in the morning as I leave. He mainly shreds it and breaks one nut in half and eats the half dropping the rest. By the end of the day he usually finds and eats the other half, or the other nut. So all in all he averages 1 full peanut a day.

 

[Alsquared]

I am SO proud of Aruba today! She accepted scritches from my neighbor and was perfect with my nieces, ages 7 and 5!

 

[Alsquared]

Closeup of Aruba!

 

[TexDot33]

Look at that face! :07::07::07: What a cutie!! It's a good thing they are so darn cute ... that way when they do something that they aren't supposed to we still love 'em anyway!

 

[Alsquared]

Aruba is taking a nap this afternoon - but she is sleeping on two feet. Should I be worried that she's ill????

 

[TexDot33]

Do you always sleep on your back, or your side? My two very rarely sleep on one foot (usually they sleep curled up in a hut, or underneath my chin ...) in fact the only time I ever see Mac on one foot in in the shower on the shower perch, I think in 18 months time I have seen Hamlet perch on one foot once. This whole "lose an hour" thing has everyone off kilter today, I wouldn't worry at all unless this is accompanied by other symptoms ...

 

[Alsquared]

Thanks, Tex, for the reassurance! Since I'm a new parront I'm hyper-vigilant to possible parrot health problems.

Otherwise she's behaving just fine - even learning new things like "come here"!

 

[TexDot33]

... even learning new things like "come here"!

Recall training is a very good skill to have, especially if you ever need it. With macaws I think that two behaviors to train are recall training and bite-pressure training.

As Aruba gets more comfortable with the "come here" command make sure that you increase the distance that she must travel to get to you. Also, if you can, get her perched up higher than you and give her the command to get her used to being up higher than you and coming down to you you from a higher point (again, nice to have case you ever, God forbid, need it) ...

:50:

 

[Alsquared]

Tex,

Yesterday I worked on "come here" by putting her in the kitchen then hiding behind a chair in the living room - she was around the corner & I wondered if she could follow my voice - sure enough she found me! LOTS of praise for that!! Hubby (who doesn't spend as much time w/her as I do due to work) said he worked on "come here" today and she did it very well.

Any tips on tricks/play games? She really seems to love to learn new things!

 

[Alsquared]

Oh, forgot about the recall command when she's perched high up...she's willing to come down & "step-up" but since I'm so short (5'2") she finds it awkward unless I'm in the proper position. Guess I'll just have to train her to "step down" or stick train her.

I know you've posted bite-pressure training on this thread so I won't bother you to repost....

Thanks!

Alsquared

 

[Alsquared]

Just a couple more pics of Aruba!

 

[TexDot33]

Great pics of Aruba ...

 

[Vonne]

Gorgeous feathery friend! What pet store in Cleveland did you get Aruba from? I tend to go to Cleveland a few times a year during the winter, always nice to check out well run and well stocked exotic pet stores!

 

[Alsquared]

Ummm...<blushing> <shamefaced> well, Vonne, we got her from a local chain pet store here in Cleveland that normally sells "pocket pets" and small birds. This particular store in the town where I live ordered a BGM thru a breeder, thinking that it wouldn't be sold for many months...one of the employees was hoping to save enough money to buy her eventually... She was there for a week until I saw her. However, we bought her due to her awesome personality. We had seen many rescue birds but they were just too much for us...

I'm all for adoption of all kinds of homeless animals (I've been a volunteer at a local dog/cat shelter for years) but Aruba just "clicked"!

 

[Vonne]

Oh no worries! Glad she has the awesome personality, and sounds like you all will make a great family

 

[TexDot33]

You should never be ashamed of where you got your birdie from, especially if you were 'picked'. Everyone of us around here agrees that your bird should pick you. If that happens at a breeder, then it happens at a breeder, if it happens at a local shop, it happens at a local shop.

Chrsity and I got Hamlet from a PetCo, we got Mac from Parrot Safari ... they are both healthy birds and they have both been great additions to our family.

 

[Alsquared]

Thanks, Tex, it's just that I'm such an advocate of adopting pets vs. buying them outright that brings on the guilt. That said, we never found a rescue bird that picked us...

That said, I'm curious as to her breeder. The pet store and its central office have been kind of cagey with me regarding this info (obviously they don't want me to contact the breeder directly and cut them out of the financial loop if I ever want to buy another bird!) but is there any way to do so by the band numbers? It's a solid steel band on the left leg...