The Continuing Capers of Companion-ing Cotton

[Laurasea]

Total awe! ❤

 

[HeatherG]

Dinner time

I've been making myself a salad with Cotton supervising and then we eat together. In the morning same with granola + pellets. He *always* eats with me and I love it so much!

Tonight he went straight for his bowl and ate enough that I think he got some veggies too! I'll have to investigate when he's done. After that he beelined straight for his tree outside the cage and is eating seeds (and maybe pellets) that he's probably been eyeing all day.

I'm just in total awe that he's out and about and interacting with me this much already!

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View attachment 39712

You could bring me some of yhat salad. It looks pretty good. Here, let me give you driving directions…

I made the mistake of eating cookies in bed and sharing some with Willow last time I was sick. Now, whenever I bring him into my bedroom to camp out on his basket he has to search for cookies. And he is not satisfied until he’s looked for them. So he won’t settle down for pets until he’s convinced there are no cookies.

(I feel so used. Sniff sniff.).

 

[HeatherG]

Tainted love…. Mr. Crankybeak just finished his avicake as big as his head and is now crunching his beak looking at me. There’s a tornado warning tonight along with the recent HOT weather but both my guys are acting normal, not like during the last windstorm where they got all freaked out.

Cotton’s photos show how our birds are really just strange little alien people. The pic on the previous page with him holding something in his foot with the sunset background is AMAZING. He could be backed by the sand-spires of Mars holding a little ray gun.

 

[Cottonoid]

Cotton just fell from the top corner of his cage, bouncing off a couple perches on the way down, and walked to hide under a cabinet in the corner of the room. Poor buddy!! Awful awful awful to see!!

I put a ladder from the floor to his cage and a big spring of millet in front of it, then left the room, so hopefully he climbs back in.

And hopefully he's ok He didn't make a peep and was flapping furiously the whole time - he starts to use his wings to catch his balance many times a day so I think neither of us expected him to actually fall.

I'll give him a few minutes then see if he'll climb on a perch or in his carrier....

 

[Cottonoid]

Well he's back on top of his cage with cobwebs on his behind, but seems to be ok. I feel terrible; he was out on his table perch eating a walnut and I was putting the dog leash away - I think he got worried the dog was coming too because he headed for the top of his cage and lost his footing

He was hiding underneath a cabinet where my internet comes into the house, on top of a tangle of cables. Not bird proof by any means of course.

I tried offering him a long millet spray and he got scared and cried at me. Then he somehow managed to climb up the flat back of this cabinet?!? and was barely holding on near the top where a record player sits. I held a perch under him while he started flapping madly, trying not to fall, then his little feet scrambled wildly with just the tip of his beak holding on and he grabbed the perch!

He was holding it with his beak, his little toes clamped on from underneath, and flapping like crazy so I cradled his back with my hand while I moved him toward his cage about 4 feet away. He kept trying to reach out to grab something nearby and nearly falling off, but we made it to the rope perch he uses to get in and out of his cage!

I put the giant millet on top with him, and a bowl full of seed and a walnut in his cage. Naturally he wants nothing to do with me. How scary for him!! Me after him was certainly worse than the fall.

Poor Cotton!

P.S. his back is so, so soft and warm

 

[Cottonoid]

.....now that it's my bedtime and past his bedtime I'm starting to wish I'd have tried to pop him inside his cage!

He's happy as can be, beak grinding immediately under the heater panel (He stopped for a second when I moved the camera remotely from across the room)

How are his toes remotely comfortable haha

(Phew, going through the usual bedtime routine had him climbing back inside and fluffing up for bed)

Sorry for the multiple posts; I'm kinda talking my nerves down and posting pictures to convince myself he'll be ok.

 

[Laurasea]

Poor kid! But I see more sprouts! Leashes and brooms look like snake to them. My freak with cords leashes anything remotely snake like

 

[Laurasea]

and look at those clear eyes!!! ❤

 

[Cottonoid]

Poor kid! But I see more sprouts! Leashes and brooms look like snake to them. My freak with cords leashes anything remotely snake like

Oh DUH

I knew you'd appreciate his eyes!! Its not the best photo in dim evening light but wow, his irises!

Hopefully this adventure doesn't result in chewing off all the pins

 

[Laurasea]

are eyes silver gray or blue? Hard to tell in Pic yes wow!!!! Wow wow wow wow! Over the moon

 

[Cottonoid]

I think they're still changing; they still look pretty brown in daylight.

 

[Laurasea]

well I'm still hoping they are lighter. But maybe is the rarer color. How long in doxy?

 

[HeatherG]

Poor poor little guy.

My birds would take this fall as an opportunity to be cried over and fussed over. I doubt that the millet was quite as comforting as you would have been.

Yes, let Cotton collect himself and hopefully he will be ok on Wednesday and up for more investigations.

 

[Cottonoid]

Poor poor little guy.

My birds would take this fall as an opportunity to be cried over and fussed over. I doubt that the millet was quite as comforting as you would have been.

Yes, let Cotton collect himself and hopefully he will be ok on Wednesday and up for more investigations.

I had a running commentary the whole time and he wasn't super impressed with me, but I do agree it helps even if he doesn't show it.

 

[Icca]

Poor little guy and poor you! Glad everyone is ok

 

[Cottonoid]

well I'm still hoping they are lighter. But maybe is the rarer color. How long in doxy?

This is the 5th week but I'll have to check my calendar!

 

[Laurasea]

This is the time to do an extra big clean. Change a/c filter. Change vacuum filters. My vet is for dilute bleach to clean removed perches, once rinsed and dry and no bleach smell they are safe. I put rope perches in a five gallon bucket outside with dawn dish soap and little bleach. Then soak in plain water and hang to Dry. I have washed them on gentle cycle in a bag in the washing machine as well. Sorry forgot to remind you as I think week 4 is when my vet recommends Xtra big cleaning based on this weird bacteria dormancy period.

 

[Cottonoid]

Oh that's super helpful, thank you!! Ironically I was planning on a big clean this weekend just because (and because Cotton's been willing to be out of his cage long enough), so win win that I have a recommended method to follow!

 

[HeatherG]

Oh that's super helpful, thank you!! Ironically I was planning on a big clean this weekend just because (and because Cotton's been willing to be out of his cage long enough), so win win that I have a recommended method to follow!

Also re: cleaning: if there’s a lot of organic debris you need to remove that first before bleaching as the bleach action will be exhausted on the debris and not eliminate all bacteria.

For example, I would soak perches or cage with hot water and soap first to remove most of the poop and old food. Then I would rinse (to remove debris) and bleach as recommended to sanitize/ ‘sterilize’ (kill germs).

Isn’t it fun to clean EVERYTHING after your bird has been ill? I had a very very old Quaker that I went around with a few times after age 20 for issues which wouldn’t have been a problem in a well bird. What a lot of work (when your old old bird’s body stops working quite right).

I am glad you know to do this cleaning. I think vets forget to instruct clients to clean near the end of treatment.

 

[Cottonoid]

I am glad you know to do this cleaning. I think vets forget to instruct clients to clean near the end of treatment.

It was mentioned to me but with my trip I'd completely forgotten WHY I planned to clean this weekend, so I wouldn't have done it as thoroughly without the reminders! Thank you both.