Vandal is HOOOOOOME!

[strudel]

if I ever finished my niece's stupid time-consuming Elsa costume that is making me want to stab myself.

Is that from Frozen? They were talking about that on another forum, how all the kids are obsessed with it. Somebody linked to this, I found it funny. Disney?s ?Frozen? ruined my life

Vandal looks so cute in his little outfit. He looks so cute any which way.

 

[Selestine]

Yes... Frozen. Shudder.

My kids are old enough to have escaped the obsession, but my niece. I've been painting a frigging cape with glitter and glue for two days now. I'm finding glitter in places it doesn't belong! It's awful! When she called me with her adorable little six-year-old voice and said "Aunt Missy... Mommy won't buy the deluxe Elsa dress! Will you sew one for me???" I should have said "Who is Aunt Missy? You have a wrong number!" I'm a terrible person -.-

 

[strudel]

Just don't let Vandal near it. I can just imagine how amusing picking off glitter might be.

 

[Selestine]

Oh god, I can just see it...

Niece-wearing-a-garbage-bag: Trick or treat!
Neighbor: And who are you?
Niece: -crying- Not Elsa! My Aunt's flock ate my costume!!!!

 

[strudel]

My Aunt's VANDAL ate my costume!!!!

Fixed for you.

 

[Selestine]

Haha even better.

 

[Anansi]

Loving all of the pics and videos, Selestine! Vandal seems quite the charmer. And I must admit to some jealousy over the ease with which you're able to get a hoodie onto Vandal! I'm still working on getting Bixby and Maya not to eat their harnesses! Smh.

 

[Selestine]

I've been trying to get a harness on my eclectus foreeeeever. I'm halfway convinced that he learned how to open his cage solely so that he can murder me in my sleep if I ever dare try again.

 

[Anansi]

Hahaha! Yeah, I feel your pain. I do wonder if the harness irritates ekkies more because of their types of feathers. Just like how they only like to be petted "with the grain".

 

[Birdman666]

Well, this is the age to do that kind of stuff with, because a few months from now that would cause a REACTION... as it stands, that stuff will probably fall within this bird's definition of "so what, it's normal. She does that to me now and again. I like it. I'm the center of attention when she does it..."

Mine?! Not so much. "I love being the center of attention, but I'm not putting that thing on!"

If it makes you feel any better, I harnessed Sweepea for a time when I first got her. But she fought the harness so hard that I pretty much gave up on it. Too much effort, where some of the other training I did with her was less effort for more success.

NONE of my birds would sit still for harnesses, or costumes, or that sort of stuff. They put up with a lot of stuff. Not that. At best, they'd take it off and chew it up. At worse? Watch your fingers, and watch out for behavior problems the minute they see it...

 

[thekarens]

I think of you're patient and follow the video you'll have better luck with a harness. I don't have much in the way of patience.

 

[Selestine]

I've wondered that too, Anansi! I know when I first got Zephyr, my breeder warned me that if I ever wanted to have his wings clipped I should be very careful only to let someone very knowledgeable with eclectus do it because they are prone to plucking after being clipped because the nature of their feathers makes them very uncomfortable if they're not clipped right.

I'm really glad Vandal is being accepting of his cute little hoodie I'll have to keep putting it on him (and the harness and flight suit and such) so he stays used to it! Really wish Zephyr would wear his, though, so I could take him outside He loves to fly sooooo much. He's such a skilled flyer, too. His favourite, of course, is to fly to wherever my daughter is and surprise land on her head while she can't hear him coming with her headphones on. Gets a good jump out of her. Very funny in bird world.

 

[Anansi]

Hahaha! Ekky sneak attacks! Hilarious!

Really? I've never heard anything in regard to the flight feathers as well, but the torso feathers are markedly different from other parrots. Almost like hair rather than feathers.

 

[Birdman666]

Yeah, well Greenwings do that too...

If Maggie sees Sarah go into the bathroom, she climbs down and waits in ambush outside the door. When Sarah opens it, she does the big bird/evil laugh thing...

Of course, Sarah has now figured out that it's coming, and hams it up good...

That's one of those kodak moments... and also why people think bird people/households are "not normal."

 

[Selestine]

I don't remember exactly what it was because Zephyr is flighted so it wasn't pertinent enough to really stick in my brain, but I think it was something about making sure the cut feathers laid right so they didn't poke the body at all, because they had less protection from it.

And that is so cute that Sarah hams it up for Maggie!! I wonder if Vandal will be able to fly down my hallway or if he'll have to waddle. It seems like Zephyr barely fits sometimes and Vandal is just.. so huge already. Even though I know he still has a fair bit of growing to do. He isn't allowed in the part of the house that has hallways yet, so guess I'll be wondering for a while

 

[noblemacaw]

I tried to train Valentino to wear a aviator harness as well. I got a red one in his size and it was fairly easy to get it on him. He tolerated me putting it on him then I took him outside for a walk. We did really well until I began to have an asthma attack two blocks from home. I turned back to go back home but the closer I got to the house the slower I walked and the more I wheezed. After I got back in the house I grabbed my inhalor and sucked but by then I could not get the medicine into the lungs as the airways were too constricted. I began to panic which caused Valentino to freak out and take off to his tree while still in the harness. He got tangled up in the leash part and while I was in dire straights with my asthma attack Lupe was trying to take the harness off of him. Needless to say the whole experience traumatized Valentino. I can't even pick up the harness without a reaction now. I can't even get it near him at this time.

I even tried a very very slow reintroduction. Its a no go. Valentino does not go anywhere without being in a carrier now. I have not been able to take him outside except in a travel cage or carrier. I visit the Hastings Veterans home quite a bit and the staff wants me to begin to bring Valentino there for visits. I think this will be good socialization for Valentino however I need him to wear a flight suite so he cannot crap all over the vets and the home.

I am wondering if getting the flight suite and training him to wear it would be a total waste of time and money. Since he will not let me put the red harness on him I wonder if he would let me put a different color flight suit on him? This will be kind of an expensive experiment but I guess I am willing to try because I need for him to be able to wear it.

At the breeders her granddaughter use to put capes on Valentino. She sent me a picture of her granddaughter putting a cape on him. It was very adorable and I hope the positive experience is still in Valentino's brain so I can train him.

 

[Selestine]

Oh my gosh, I can't blame him! Poor guy probably thinks you're going to have another asthma attack if he puts the harness back on! I think it would be a worthwhile experiment to try the flightsuit instead of the aviator.. they're so different looking, maybe he wouldn't associate one with the other. I'd love to see the picture of him in the cape.

I put Vandal's aviator on today and took him for his first trip outside. I have to say, aside from the going outside part, he definitely preferred the hoodie to the strappy aviator.

There were little birds flying by overhead that he was so interested in looking at.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs9RexITTk0&feature=youtu.be"]Vandal's first trip outside - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Birdman666]

I don't remember exactly what it was because Zephyr is flighted so it wasn't pertinent enough to really stick in my brain, but I think it was something about making sure the cut feathers laid right so they didn't poke the body at all, because they had less protection from it.

And that is so cute that Sarah hams it up for Maggie!! I wonder if Vandal will be able to fly down my hallway or if he'll have to waddle. It seems like Zephyr barely fits sometimes and Vandal is just.. so huge already. Even though I know he still has a fair bit of growing to do. He isn't allowed in the part of the house that has hallways yet, so guess I'll be wondering for a while

Those two chase each other around the house!

Maggie has a game she instigates with Sarah we like to call "Death From Above." She goes "Big Bird" and does what we call "the look" which is that crazed macaw stare thing that they do... Then Maggie does the "Evil Laugh" kind of a deep HUH-HUH-HUH!

That is Sarah's cue to scream and start running... and the second she does, Maggie swoops from the top of her cage to the floor and gives chase doing evil bird laugh...

This usually ends with some form of beak wrestling, and then Sarah curled up on the floor with Maggie in "lap bird" mode.

Stuff like that is priceless!