X-Evolutionist: Pets

Goodbye Peanut Boy. We will miss you very much....

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:08:58 GMT

Our parrot, Peanut Boy died tonight. Peanut Boy was a Timneh African Grey parrot, and a very loving member of our family.

His last owner, an elderly man, died. Poor Peanut Boy had been bonded with his owner, and was grieving thereafter. He had pulled out many of his feathers and was in very poor shape. The man's widow was no solace for Peanut Boy, and she gave up and decided to find him a new home.

Most of our pets come from sad situations, and when I saw Peanut Boy, with his feathers all chewed up, my heart broke for him.

I brought him home and he became a member of our family. In time, Peanut Boy fell in love with my hubby, and his feathers slowly recovered.

He was bonded to my hubby, like my hubby was his mate. Peanut Boy would sit on my hubby's shoulder and whisper sweet nothings into my hubby's ear. We would pause the TV and just listen to Peanut Boy and smile at each other. Peanut Boy will be very much missed.

We are very happy that Peanut Boy was able to find a second love in his life after his old owner died. We will miss him very much, but we are consoled with the thought that he was a happy bird till the day he died.

Dear God,

Please accept our Peanut Boy into your arms.

Wanna see a dancing parrot?

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:50:52 GMT

Gerry sent me a link to this video of a dancing cockatoo. You won't believe until you see it. Snowball actually dances on the beat most of the time. If you look at the bottom left corner of the video, you'll see a parrot like Rufus trying to dance, too.

Rufus loves to dance to music he likes, and make "finger snapping" noises, but he can't quite get coordinated with the beat. He often practices, with no music, "snapping his fingers" while bobbing his head, trying to get them both on the downbeat. He's trying to learn to bob his head on every beat, and snap his fingers on two and four. (His favorite music is all in 4/4.) He raises his foot when he "snaps his fingers". He's a crackup.

But, I can't get a video of him. He is camera shy. He stops doing things when I get the camera. Bummer. Here's a video of me trying to catch him dancing. He stops as soon as he sees the camera. Here's another video of a time he stopped dancing. You can see Peanut Boy in the cage, too. That is the show tune cable channel playing in the background. Rufus will often dance to show tunes. He also likes Roy Orbison.

Rufus likes to learn new things. I showed this video to Rufus for inspiration. He was really paying attention. Yes, really!

Even likes watching America's Funniest Home Videos. He even laughs. Yes, really!

"Nicki, find the babies...."

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:46:00 GMT

As you might already know, I have a lot of pets, including a cage-full of parakeets here in my office. The other day, I accidentally left the door of my parakeet cage open after feeding them, then went outside. While I was out in my backyard, five of my eleven parakeets got out of the cage. When I came in the back door, they were all flying around the kitchen, but they flew away in various directions. I looked everywhere for them, but I couldn't find them!

Luckily, Nicki lives in my house...

Nicki, my girl-dog mutt, got spayed when she was young. So, she's never had puppies. BUT, God wired her with a maternal instinct to the max. She thinks all my other pets are her babies.

So, when I couldn't find the parakeets, I said: "Nicki, find the babies". She immediately went searching for her "babies". One by one, she led me to them. One was found in a closet, one was up on a shelf, etc. One by one, they were put back in their house with the other parakeets.

Once four were back in their house, I took "inventory" and found that Monty was still missing. I asked Nicki once more "Nicki, find the baby...". She went looking again. Finally, she led me to the back room where we found Monty behind a chest of drawers. Monty had gotten stuck between the wall and the back of the chest of drawers, and couldn't get back out again.

When I put Monty back in the house, Monty and his girlfriend Gumby were very happy to see each other! (parrot-type birds mate for life) They immediately started doing the parakeet equivalent of hugging and kissing. Here's a picture of them taken some time back:

Gumby and Monty

Thank you, Nicki! I would have never found all the "babies" without your help. Good girl!

Introducing Hudson Bunny!

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:29:29 GMT

I wrote recently that one of my bunnies had died, and how my other bunny, Cadbury. was sad and lonely. As I said before, I wouldn't ordinarily want to get a new pet so soon after being brokenhearted. But my hubby and I decided that Cadbury Bunny should have a new companion.

Cadbury now has a new boyfriend named Hudson. He is a fairly young bunny, still growing, but already is as big as Cadbury. Sometimes my hubby calls him Baby Huey, after the big diapered baby duck in comic books. Here's Hudson Bunny relaxing after a hard day's romp in the yard:

We weren't sure they were going to get along, so I didn't blog about it. At first, she fought him and chased him away. So, we put them in separate pens where they could get acquainted safely, with supervised visitation when I was outside. Finally, Cadbury, (and I) got used to the idea of a new bunny, and she started liking his company. She likes Hudson now, but sometimes she goes to where Jellybean died and pines. She (and I) will be fine. Here's a picture of Cadbury and Hudson when they were first getting to know each other:

Now, Cadbury and Hudson snuggle and groom each other. Hudson is a very nice bunny. They have a bunny paradise outside our back door. They have their own little fenced bunny lawn, and they have a big, roomy hutch under our gazebo awning on the patio. They have their choice of sun or shade. When I am outside, I open the bunny gate so they can romp around the backyard. They also like to lean far over and eat the tender plants in the fishpond. One time, Hudson even dove in the fishpond and swam across when Cadbury was chasing him before they became friends. After they have a nice romp in the yard, they go back into their own bunny yard for a nap, and I close the gate.

They also have a bunny pen in the house. We bring them inside on hot, rainy, cold, etc days.

Welcome home, Hudson Bunny!

Goodbye Jellybean Bunny. We will miss you.....

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:28:43 GMT

Jellybean the Wonder Bunny died suddenly yesterday of natural causes. Jellybean was a wonderful companion to me and my hubby, and also to his sweetheart Cadbury Bunny. Jellybean loved to romp in the yard with Cadbury. Here's pictures we took shortly after they joined our family:

Jellybean on the left, and his sweetheart, Cadbury on the right.

We only recently had adopted Jellybean and Cadbury. Here's the blog post from when we adopted them last June. As you may know from previous posts, my husband and I love to give loving homes to homeless pets. We are very sad to lose Jellybean so soon.

His girlfriend, Cadbury, is moping around listlessly. They did everything together, always running together, or laying together and washing each other's face and ears.

Usually, when a pet dies, I don't have the heart to get another one right away. But, this time, my hubby and I have decided to adopt another companion for Cadbury since she is so lonely. I called the bunny rescue lady this morning, and she's going to keep her eyes open for another neutered male bunny who needs a new home.

Sadly, many people get bunnies for their little children at Easter, without knowing much about bunnies. Bunnies are strong willed, usually don't like to be picked up, and will often scratch when picked up. So, there are always bunnies that need new homes as people realize that a bunny was not a correct choice for a little child.

Alex the African Grey Parrot has died.

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:53:10 GMT

I had read a lot about Alex, a parrot who could count and knew colors. I was very sad to hear just now of Alex's death. My parrot, Rufus, is the same species as Alex. I had followed the research with Alex with great interest.

Dr. Irene Pepperberg had worked with Alex for many years. Their research told a lot about the capabilities of African Grey Parrots. Here's more information on the Alex website. Here's a video of Alex telling colors, numbers, etc, that was on PBS.

Life with a pet who talks!

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:51:10 GMT

This morning, I heard that my African Grey Parrot, Rufus, learned a new animal sound. We were outside and he heard a ring necked dove cooing and then did the call himself. I decided to make a new List on my space of all the things he can say. (I made it with the Book List as it is the only list that sorts alphabetically).

Rufus had already lived with another family before I adopted him. His owners had divorced, and sad to say, neither one of them wanted him. (I would guess that it is because he talks in each of their voices.)

Rufus striking a pose

Rufus could already talk quite a bit before I adopted him. He's really good at using words in context. His species is well known for being able to do that. He has learned quite a lot of additional words since he's lived with me and my hubby, too.

Rufus also has a great love for animal sounds. He likes for me to tell him what each is called so he can say them on cue. The only one that he can do consistently on cue is whine like a puppy. That is his favorite animal sound. But, he is learning all the time. He loves to learn new things.

The list is not complete. I can't remember everything he can say. I will be adding more as I hear them and as he learns new ones.

Rest in Peace Ziggy

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:00:33 GMT

Some time back, I wrote that my parakeet Miss Piggy died. Her mate, Beady, loved her very much, but eventually found love again with Ziggy.

Ziggy, who has lived here for years, had never had a boyfriend. I was very happy that Ziggy finally found love with Beady. Parakeets in love are one of the cutest things in the world. They snuggle all the time, and the male feeds the female.

Ziggy

Sadly, Beady, didn't have much time together with Ziggy. She died earlier this morning.

Goodbye Ziggy. We will miss you.

Wet bunnies!

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:39:43 GMT

As I said a few posts ago, we added two homeless bunnies to our family a couple of weeks ago. As I said before, they were already outdoor bunnies when we adopted them. We wanted two hop-around-the-backyard-bunnies, and the bunny rescue lady recommended Jellybean and Cadbury to us.

For a while, I was bringing them into the house when it rained, and it's been raining a LOT here. We have since gotten a bunny hutch and put it under our gazebo so that they have a dry home when it rains.

Apparently, staying dry when it rains is not a priority for them! I went out this morning to check on them, and they were both damp. I put them both in the hutch, and I sat outside for a while to watch what they would do.

Well, Cadbury happily hopped down the bunny ramp out of her hutch and went to play in the rain, nibbling fresh grass. They get bunny pellets, bunny hay, and fresh veggies, but they like nibbling grass, too.

God designed rabbits to live outside, and I guess my bunnies are perfectly happy outside, no matter what the weather!

New additions to our family!

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:25:44 GMT

We adopted two bunnies last Saturday. They are still adjusting to their new home. I will be posting pictures of them, soon.

They are full grown, a male and female. They are both "fixed", but they snuggle all the time. They were already named Jellybean and Cadbury, and we are keeping their names.

Jellybean is a roly-poly boy bunny. We will be helping him to slim down. Cadbury is a slender girl bunny. Since Jellybean is shaped like a jellybean, it's easy to remember who is who.

They are not afraid of our dogs at ALL! The dogs don't mind them, either. The dogs are used to birds flitting around, already. We are keeping them in a bunny fence. If the dogs ever go up to the fence to sniff, the bunnies meet them there. The bunnies must already be used to dogs from their old family.

Rufus listening to the Word of God!

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:07:21 GMT

My hubby downloaded some digital pictures last night. He called my attention to one picture I took of Rufus. He told me it was a "Heavenly" picture.

Yep, it is Heavenly, alright! The way the sunshine is filtering through the tree, and the way that Rufus has his head cocked, make it look like he is listening to the Word of God.

I am a born again Christian, and I take my faith in God seriously. But, I do like this picture!

I just entered my portrait of Rufus in the photo contest!

Thu, 31 May 2007 14:23:43 GMT

Here is my favorite portrait of Rufus:

I took this in our back yard. I caught him in the act of being his usual silly self.

If you like this portrait of Rufus the Wonder Bird, please vote for it on the Voting Page.

Thank you!

Today, my parakeet nibbled the jelly beans she's been sitting on!

Thu, 31 May 2007 00:23:51 GMT

This is an update to two other recent blog posts:

My parakeet is trying to hatch a jellybean!
My parakeet is trying to hatch three jellybeans, now!

I posted recently about replacing my parakeets eggs with white jellybeans to get them to stop laying eggs.

Well, the jig is up. Today, I caught my parakeets nibbling on their "eggs". So, I guess they aren't fooled any more. Not bad, though. We switched out the first egg for a jelly bean on May third, so the plan lasted about four weeks! She had been sitting on them every day until today.

I hope she stops laying eggs. As I said before, her mate is her brother, so we don't want any babies.

Rufus wants to say "Hi"!

Tue, 29 May 2007 13:31:22 GMT

My parrot Rufus dictated this blog entry. Here's proof:

Just kidding! Some time back, my friend Iwo made an animated gif from a picture of Rufus. She sure did a good job!

My parakeet is trying to hatch three jellybeans, now!

Fri, 18 May 2007 14:59:33 GMT

I wrote last time about my parakeet who we wanted to stop laying eggs. For the last several days, she's been happily sitting on three white jellybeans! My little birdies give me so much joy!

My parakeet is trying to hatch a jellybean!

Thu, 03 May 2007 12:53:18 GMT

I have a lot of pet birds, including parakeets. Most of my parakeets are brothers and sisters. Two homeless parakeets that I took in years ago fell in love and had babies three times. Since they were so cute, I got attached to them and kept them all.

Lately, one of my parakeets has been laying eggs. But, her mate is her brother, so, we don't want them to have babies. My hubby has been taking away the eggs (I can't do it). But, she keeps laying more to take their place.

The other day, my hubby got the idea to give her a white jellybean to sit on the next time she laid an egg. He bought some jellybeans, and we waited for her to lay another egg so he could replace it.

It worked! She is sitting happily on a jellybean. So, maybe she will quit laying eggs now.

My parrot is a ventriloquist!

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:27:36 GMT

Lately, Rufus has been imitating Penny, my cockatiel who is bonded to me. Rufus does not have much use for me since he is too independent. But, Penny cries for me if I am out of the room.

Penny, left, and Rufus, right

Lately, Rufus has started crying for me in Penny's voice, just to fool me! Rufus cracks me up!

Meet Peanut Boy the Wonder Bird!

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:02:35 GMT

I don't talk about Peanut Boy too much. Peanut Boy is a nice, quiet bird, and not naughty at all. Rufus, the naughty bird, gets more press because of all of his silly antics. Peanut Boy, meanwhile, just happily loves his Daddy (my hubby).

My hubby wasn't a bird person when I got hooked on hook-billed birds (tee hee). But, he has become a bird person, at least where Peanut Boy is concerned. Don't ask him about it, though. He won't admit it...

Peanut Boy loves to sit on my hubby's shoulder all evening and sweet talk him. Seriously, he likes to whisper sweet nothings in my hubby's ear.

My hubby is Peanut Boy's second love. His first owner died leaving Peanut Boy very sad and stressed. He became a feather picker because of that. When I adopted him, he was almost snatched bald on his chest. I'm happy he fell in love with my hubby. Hopefully, he will someday be so happy and secure that he will stop picking his feathers.

(In this picture, he has a messy face. Carrots are fun to tear up and throw around!)

My parrot has a favorite TV show!

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 14:24:49 GMT

This is true! My parrot, Rufus, has a favorite TV show! It is "America's Funniest Home Videos". His favorite videos are those with animals. He laughs and laughs. He makes me and my husband laugh out loud. He is such a crack up!

Only other parrot lovers will believe me. The rest of you will just have to trust me!

Rufus the Wonder Bird!

Rest in Peace Miss Piggy

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:55:39 GMT

My parakeet, Miss Piggy, the mate and constant companion of Beady, just died. We will miss her very much.

I just wrote in my previous blog entry that I am a Bird Lady. I love to give homes to homeless birds. There is always room for one more.

I first saw Miss Piggy in a cage by herself at Petsmart. She only had one foot, and they kept her separate from the other birds because of that. I told the manager to please give her to me, and I would see that she had a happy home all her life. I already had a cage full of parakeets, and had other handicapped birds, too. I thought she would be happy with us. I named this little one-legged bird "Piggy" after a joke about a three-legged pig. When Piggy matured, and I saw she was a female, I rechristened her "Miss Piggy".

Meanwhile, Joy, another parakeet I had taken in because she only had one eye, fell in love with Davy, an old man parakeet whose owner had moved overseas in the military. Joy and Davy had babies, one of whom was Beady. When he was little, Beady had big, black eyes that looked like beads, hence the name. As Beady grew, he came to look just like Miss Piggy. They could have been twins, but I knew they were not related.

In time, Beady and Miss Piggy fell in love and have been inseparable ever since. They would snuggle constantly. Miss Piggy had trouble getting around, and Beady would make sure she had plenty to eat by feeding her mouth to mouth. They made an adorable couple since they looked identical except for the color of the "cere" where their nostrils are: blue for boys and pink for girls.

Good bye, Miss Piggy. We will miss you.

Beady, left, and Miss Piggy, right. Miss Piggy, we will miss you very much.

Confessions of a Bird Lady!

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:34:42 GMT

Yep, I'm a Bird Lady. I love animals and I like to surround myself with pets. In addition to my three mutt dogs, two free-range box turtles, and my goldfish in the pond, I have a lot of pet birds. They are all parrot type birds including two cockatiels, two African grey parrots, a lovebird and a lot of parakeets. Here's a few of my birds:

Hover your mouse over the pictures to see what type of birds they are.
Click images for larger view.

My cockatiels, Penny and Jonah, just came to see me. They must have heard me thinking of them, tee hee. I open their house first thing in the morning, and they get to choose if they want to play on top of their house, or jump off and waddle over to see Mom.

Oh, in addition to being a Bird Lady, I am also a wife with a very understanding hubby. Thank you, sweetie!

My birds have their own website! Their website has their biographies. Some of my birds are adopted and I talk about how they came to live with me. I am very much in favor of adopting homeless animals! All three of our doggies are adopted mutts.

My first video of Rufus!

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:44:15 GMT

Here's the first video I ever took with our digital camera:

This video is a peak inside the secret world of X. You can hear me and my hubby talking!

Here's a Link to my other videos.

Ain't I something?

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 17:45:11 GMT

My parrot, Rufus, thinks he is really hot stuff.

And, he's right!

(click image for bigger view of this critter)

Daddy's Girl

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:00:15 GMT

We've had Nicki for almost ten years. We got her as an abandoned puppy. She has never gotten over the feeling of abandonment, apparently. She needs constant reassurance that she is loved. She behaves like a rival for my hubby's attention. She is Daddy's Girl to the max.

We recently got another dog, Lilly. Nicki thinks that Lilly is going to take Daddy's love from her, so there is some rivalry between them, but they are gradually becoming better friends. Nicki is happiest and most secure when she is no more than one molecule away from Daddy.

Daddy's Girl

Belty, our boy dog, on the other hand, is very secure, and just sits back and watches the girls fight for Daddy's love. Belty knows that he is loved.

Presenting My Pretty Penny!

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:19:44 GMT

This is Penny, my very sweet cockatiel. I've had Penny longer than any of my pet birds. She was very wild when I first got her, but over time she has grown very bonded to me. She wants to be with me all the time and is very insistent, too! I work at home, on this computer, and Penny likes to sit on my shoulder or lap or the back of my chair while I work.

Sometimes, she gets restless and runs up and down my arm until she figures out where she's going to sit. Sometimes, she'll run down one arm, across my keyboard, and up the other arm! In the evenings, she sits on my shoulder until bedtime. My hubby doesn't mind because Peanut Boy, our Timneh African Grey, is on his shoulder all evening! Meanwhile, Rufus, my Congo African Grey Parrot, is usually getting into trouble someplace.

My Pretty Penny

Penny even likes to go for rides in the car. I take her places like the pet shop and hardware stores - places that I can get away with it. People always ask me how I get her to stay on my shoulder. The thing is, it's hard to get her OFF my shoulder. Like I said, she wants to be with me all the time.

Rufus gets the most attention here in my blog because he is so funny, naughty and entertaining. But, Penny loves me in a way that Rufus never will.

(In case you are interested, you might like to visit my website about my pet birds. Several are rescues and I have their biographies on their pages.)

What are YOU looking at?!

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:53:33 GMT

Rufus the Wonder Bird

I've mentioned before that we recently got a digital camera and that my favorite subjects are my pets. I looked at some recent pictures last night, and I noticed this picture of Rufus with a bit of attitude. Don't get in a stare-down with an African Grey Parrot, or you will lose!

Life with parrots. By X

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:08:50 GMT

Rufus the Wonder Bird making a silly face

I was just thinking about what Life With a Parrot is like. I just came up with a short list. I'll be adding to it as time goes by. You other parrot lovers will know what I'm talking about:

When you live with a parrot:

You always have somebody to talk to who will answer you back
You always have somebody to tell you what to do
You always have somebody to clean up after
You always have funny things to laugh at
You always have somebody to laugh with you at the things you find funny on TV

My Parrots' Vocabulary!

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 19:16:27 GMT

I have two parrots who talk, Rufus and Peanut Boy. Check out their website!

I will be adding to this list as I remember new things. They say a lot, I just haven't written them down before.

My Parrots' Biographies!

Peanut Boy's vocabulary:

(whew!)
(whistles for the dogs) (Peanut Boy whistles for the dogs if they bark too much.)
Want peanut
Want peanut!
WANT PEANUT! (Peanut Boy has a one track mind.)

Rufus's Vocabulary:

(barks like a dog)
(bomb falling and exploding) (This one is interactive. If I do the bomb falling whistle he will do the explosion.)
(cell phone ring)
(clicks tongue)
(clucks like a chicken)
(coughs, cough, cough
(dial phone) What's new? Mm hm, mm hm, mm hm... (Woman's voice)
(dials phone) Hello, yeah, OK, bye bye (Man's voice)
(dog howling)
(dog yapping) (Little, yappy dog. This must be "Merlin".)
(dove cooing) (Rufus loves animal calls.)
(kiss sound)
(lady's scream)
(laughing)(This is a hearty belly laugh in a man's voice.)
(meows like a kitty)
(microwave beep)
(mumbling)
(peacock call)
(smoke alarm)
(squeaks) (Rufus loves to imitate squeaky doors and drawers.)
(tunk tunk tunk tunk)(This sound like knocking on a hollow metal tank.)
(whew!)
(whines like a puppy)
(whistles for the dogs)
(wolf whistle)
Bad boy
Booooop
Buck buck buck buck bird
Bye bye
C'mere
C'mere (snap snap snap snap - snapping fingers sound
Good boy! (Rufus does not say this very often! He's a naughty boy most of the time!)
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Hello baby!
Hello birby! (Rufus gets baby and bird mixed up and it comes out birby.)
Hello bird! (He will walk up to other birds and say this.)
Hello Merlin
Hello!
Hey! (Rufus first said this after getting dive bombed by a parakeet.)
La la la la la la la (Rufus like to make up his own songs.)
Marco! (waiting for us to say Polo) (Rufus likes interactive games)
Merlin! No! No! No! No! (From what I gather Rufus used to live with a little yappy dog named Merlin.)
Merlin! Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!!
No way!
No! No! No! No!
Oh
Oh, boy
Oh, yeah
Pretty bird
Pretty boy
Shhh
Sit
WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! (This one is loud!)
What!
What! What! What! What! What!
What's new bird?
What's new?
What's that?
Whee ooooh!
Whew!
Whoa!
Women!

Who's got a silly face!

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:56:12 GMT

It's time to show off another picture of Rufus the Wonder Bird!

Would you believe it? Rufus (and my other birds) have their own website! (They are very talented!)

X-Evolutionist's Bird House

Rufus likes "Carbaret"!

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:56:25 GMT

I was just watching a show on PBS called "Broadway's Lost Treasures". It has clips of Broadway perfomances from the Tony Awards over the years. They just showed a scene from Cabaret with Joel Grey singing "Willkommen".

Rufus, my parrot in the picture above, loved his performance. Rufus is a music lover, and he shows his preferences by bobbing his head and making finger snapping noises.

He cracks me up!

(Please leave comments to me in my Guestbook. Thank you!)

We've still been having fun at school

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:47:09 GMT

I've blogged lately about trying to teach Rufus, the parrot in my picture above, to talk on cue. My hubby and I are still working on Rufus's schooling.

Our other African Grey Parrot, Peanut Boy, doesn't talk nearly as much as Rufus can, but he will give kisses when you ask him to. When I ask Rufus to do a kitty, or another one of his sounds (and he doesn't), I will then ask my hubby or Peanut Boy to do a sound. Then, I tell them how good they are.

Rufus does not like the competition! (You should see the dirty looks he gives me when I ask my hubby or Peanut Boy to talk.) And, he does not like others getting the attention that is rightfully his. He is getting closer to wanting to talk when asked.

Good boy, Rufus!

(Please leave comments to me in my Guestbook. Thank you!)

Rufus at school: Continued.

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 16:52:03 GMT

Here's a follow-up to yesterday's blog:

A few days ago, my parrot Rufus and I had "school" some more. Rufus was doing his sounds and I was telling him what they were called.

Later, I asked Rufus to do a chicken, kitty, doggie, etc. Each time he would just do a "puppy" (his favorite sound). So, just for kicks, I asked my hubby to do a chicken, and when he did it, I praised him. Then I continued to ask my hubby to do a kitty, then a doggie, then a peacock, etc. Each time he did the sound, I told him what a good hubby he was. Rufus was moving his mouth the whole time while deciding whether he wanted to join in. But, he never said anything.

This "game" seemed to get Rufus's attention a lot more than just me asking him to do a sound. I'm going to try this some more -- pending my hubby's willingness, that is!

(Please leave comments to me in my Guestbook. Thank you!)

By golly, Rufus DOES pay attention at school!

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 14:25:13 GMT

Rufus, my parrot in the picture above, likes to do sound effects and animal sounds. He knew a lot before he came to live with me, and he has learned more since. I've been trying to teach him the name of all his sounds in the hopes that he can learn to do them on cue.

For instance, he whines like a puppy and I say "Puppy", then he meows and I say "Kitty", etc. Rufus can tell when we are having "school" because when he does a sound and I tell him what it is called, he does another one and another one as I tell him what each is called. He likes this "game".

But .... when I ask him to do a Kitty or a Peacock, etc, all he does is whine like a puppy. That apparently is his favorite sound. But, I can tell he understands the general principle that I expect him to do a sound................

Well, last week my hubby asks my dogs what kind of dog food they want for dinner. (we talk to our animals a lot!). He suggested chicken and Rufus goes "Buck Buck Buck Buck". Rufus actually was paying attention all those days at school!

Good bird, Rufus!

(Please leave comments to me in my Guestbook. Thank you!)

Thank you Jodi!

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:41:56 GMT

Jodi made a beautiful frame for my favorite picture of Rufus. What a nice surprise!

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Bath time for parakeets

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 13:35:56 GMT

Wet parakeets! (click for larger picture)

My birds love to take a bath, and I love to make them happy. They love to be squirted with a spray bottle full of water. When they see me with the spray bottle they will cling to the side of the cage to get as close as the can. It's hard to tell in the picture, but they were sopping wet at this point. Boy, do they ever love bath time!

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Presenting Beady, the cutest parakeet in the world

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:08:38 GMT

A great portrait of Beady taken by my hubby. (click image for larger view)

Some of my birds were born (hatched) here. The birds who were born here are the children of two of my rescued parakeets. Their mother was a one-eyed parakeet who I saw at a "scratch and dent sale" at a petshop (seriously!). The father was an old man parakeet whose owner went off to war. They came from two different places but fell in love and had three clutches of babies. They have since died, but the surviving babies still live here.

Beady is the sweetest of all my baby parakeets. He's grown now, but he'll always be a baby to me. His mate, Miss Piggy, has one leg. I saw her in a cage all by herself at Petsmart. I convinced the manager to give her to me. Yes, I am a softy.

Beady and Miss Piggy are very deeply in parakeet love. Beady takes care of Miss Piggy since she can't get around as well as the other birds in the cage. He brings her food and feeds her mouth to mouth as birds do. They make a very cute couple because they look identical.

Beady and Miss Piggy (click image for larger view)
Cute, huh?

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Rufus loves my foot

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:15:43 GMT

Rufus the Wonder Bird

I have written before about what a naughty boy my parrot Rufus is. There is one area where we get along....

He loves my feet. He bites my hands, but he loves my feet. My feet never stop him from tearing up our woodwork, (like my hands do) or ever discipline him in any other way. I figure that is his reasoning.

Here's a video of Rufus hunging upside down from his play perch to get a head scratching from my foot:

Rufus loves my foot

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Rufus finally figured out what "one strike you're out" means.

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 13:09:35 GMT

Rufus the Wonder Bird - African Grey Parrot

I wrote earlier about how my parrot Rufus would rather be naughty for one minute than be with his mom and dad all evening. He liked to climb off his perch and go where no bird should go. He knows where he's forbidden to go, so there where he makes a beeline to.

We would put him back in his house in the next room after three chances, then we changed it to one chance since he was incorrigible. It seemed like he was happier in his house. He would be put in there and start singing and doing his favorite sound effects.

Well, he finally decided it is better to be with mom and dad all evening than be naughty for one minute, after all. We bring both greys in to watch TV or movies with us in the evening. Now, Rufus is happy to sit on his perch and play and tear stuff up.

He prefers to tear up doorways, cupboards, couches, carpets, but he is switching his desires to yogurt cups. When I finish a yogurt he grabs it from me and happily throws bits all over the living room.

Good boy, Rufus!

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Rufus: Wanted for being a naughty boy

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:51:10 GMT

What else can I say?

Rufus is a really naughty boy. He does not care what his naughty behavior gets him. Apparently, being naughty is its own reward.

In the evening, we bring our two African grey parrots into the living room while we watch TV or a video. Peanut Boy wants to be with my hubby and happily sits on his shoulder.

On the other hand, Rufus just wants to wander around the room tearing up stuff. We did have a three strikes you're out rule before putting him back in his house, but we have lowered that to a one strike you're out rule, with no effect.

Rufus would rather be naughty for a minute and put back in his house than behave himself and be out in society.

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Wild Oklahoma Grizzly Bear!

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 13:22:14 GMT

Hi everybody!

There was a wild Oklahoma grizzly bear in my back yard last night:

Wild Oklahoma Grizzly Bear!

Just kidding! That is my boy dog Belty. He looks like a little bear, though. Here he is with his "kill" from last night: the carcass of a stuffed toy.

Belty Boo with dead stuffed toy

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Thank you!

We had a private bird show at the zoo!

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:35:13 GMT

Hi Everybody!

We went to the zoo on Saturday. I especially wanted to see the bird show. I had not been to the zoo since they added the bird show. Anyway, we went to the bird show and the lady brought out a cockatoo and was talking about parrots. She asked if anybody in the audience had parrots and we raised our hands. She talked to us through the microphone asking if our parrots did certain things and how old they were. She was helping the audience to know what a handful parrots are and how long they live and how much a lifelong commitment they are.

Anyway, after the show, we went up and talked to the trainer. We asked if they had an African Grey Parrot and she said yes, and that it would be in the next show that day. We said we'd go buy tickets for the next show. But, she said come on, I'll bring her out! She had us sit in front of the podium and she brought out the bird and put her though her paces. She did a lot of talking on cue. African Grey parrots are such fun!

This is an older bird, and it has a mind of its own, she said (don't they all). She was going to give it a practice show anyway, and she let us watch.

Such fun!

My parrot likes show tunes!

Fri, 26 May 2006 16:06:14 GMT

Hi Everybody!

I recently came across a radio station that plays nothing but showtunes. This morning I was cleaning my kitchen and I had the station cranked up so I could hear it over running water. My parrot, Rufus, started making finger snapping sounds and bobbed his head to the music! He only did this to certain songs. I didn't think to take note of which ones he liked. I was trying to finish cleaning the kitchen before I ran out of steam.

Only somebody else who owns a parrot, especially an African Grey Parrot, will really believe me. The rest of you will take it with a grain of salt, I guess. Previously, I've found that he likes oldies rock and roll (especially The Champs' "Tequilla" and Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman". Honest to goodness, he prefers certain music over other music and will show his preferrences as I said above.

On March 30 I blogged that I found out that Rufus also likes ragtime music:

http://spaces.msn.com/x-evolutionist/blog/cns!25A0033DD834DD1D!1206.entry

Here's a picture of Rufus sitting on my knee:

Rufus likes his music!

Having parrots living with me sure makes life more interesting!

We bought two new fish for our pond yesterday.

Sun, 21 May 2006 15:24:10 GMT

Hi Everybody!

Yesterday we were shopping at Wal-Mart and we thought we'd look at the fish while we were there. We saw two very beautiful shubunkins. They are a variety of goldfish.

So far, we have had just comet goldfish which are just regular goldfish with a long tail (hence the name "comet".) We had been wanting some variety in our pond, but we didn't want to pay the very high prices for koi.

When we saw these two fish we both wanted them. They were very inexpensive.

We saw some puppies yesterday.

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:28:30 GMT

Hi everybody!

We saw some adorable puppies for sale on the side of the road yesterday. We just got a new doggie a few weeks ago, so now is not the time to get another doggie. Anyway, these doggies were so cute that they were all going to get good homes. I like to adopt the animals that are the least likely to find a home, and we now have three of them.

Dogs are so great!

Thu, 18 May 2006 12:53:46 GMT

Hi Everybody!

My hubby was just talking to my dog Nicki. He was saying a bunch of things, but whenever he said a word she liked her ears would point straight up. (She has hangy-down ears most of the time.) We were cracking up. She was ignoring every word except: Hungry, Food, Nicki, Squirrel, Outside.

I love doggies!

Here's Nicki:

Nicki

Lilly took a dip in the pond!

Tue, 16 May 2006 20:24:32 GMT

Hi everybody!

This morning my hubby and I were outside by the pond with the dogs. We watched as Lilly edged really close to the pond trying to see something. Suddenly, she dove into the pond! She quickly decided that she wanted out again, so she climbed back out.

We've had the pond for over a year, and our other two dogs never have gone in the pond. I'm not sure who was more surprised: My hubby, me or Lilly.

Lilly, the Adventure Doggie!

Does this little doggie look ferocious to you?

Mon, 15 May 2006 13:00:52 GMT

Lilly the Terrible

Don't let this little dog fool you! Lilly is ferocious! When she moved in, we felt sorry for her and wanted to let her know that she was welcome here. Well, we did too good of a job. Now, she thinks she is the ONLY doggie welcome here!

Believe it or not, she growls at and picks fights with Nicki and Belty who are both much bigger than she is. This morning, she got on her back legs (like on her tippy toes) and reached up to put her front paws on Nicki's back. Then she growled at her! She was showing dominance to a doggie three times her size!

Here's my blog from when she first moved in here: Lilly's story. We certainly would never guessed how ferocious she would become from how pitiful she was. (I blogged more in the days after we got her with some updates.)

We will have to show her that my hubby and I are the top dogs around here, not her.

Belty and Nicki

I've added more pictures of my parrots.

Wed, 10 May 2006 13:31:48 GMT

A few weeks before we finally broke down and bought a digital camera, my mother was here for a visit. While she was here, she took more pictures of my birds.

I didn't have Peanut Boy when she visited last time. She took some great pictures. I've added a lot of them to my "Pets!!" photo album. (Thank you, Moma!)

Here's a new picture of Peanut Boy:

Peanut Boy
Timneh African Grey Parrot

He still looks a little bit tore up because he is recovering from being a feather picker. An older picture and his biography is on my parrot site:

http://www.geocities.com/xevolutionist/Peanut-Boy.html

He has gotten a lot better since my old pictures were taken a couple of years ago. I only had a couple of pictures of Peanut Boy before now, and they were cropped from pictures that I got for free at Walgreens Drug Store on Free Pet Picture Day. They are the ones on his bio page.