21-Mar-2000
Yes, I've not written in this thing for almost a year now. Why?
I'll claim it was because life got extremely busy, and I didn't have
time to do so. In reality, I was just lazy, and the coolness factor
wore off to maintain a journal. The coolness of having a pet parrot
didn't wear off, of course.
So much has changed since the last time I wrote about Nyassa. Let's
see. In summary:
- Diet He is eating Harrison's High Potency food
now as a main diet, with other things as treats. He actually wants
whatever I'm eating, but he doesn't get much of that. He tends to
find out that the pizza he has his eye on turns into a carrot somehow,
but that's ok, I gave it to him, so it must be what I'm eating.
- Play He doesn't make a mess of toys the way I've
seen other birds, mostly maccaws, do. He nibbles a little on each toy
in his cage, on his tree, or in a hand, but doesn't rip them up much.
I really wish he would, but perhaps since I spend so much time with
him, and when I'm not around usually someone else is, he doesn't think
it is important to make toothpicks.
- Bathing Nyassa still doesn't like to get wet.
In fact, if it happens to be raining outside, he'll do everything he
can to avoid getting hit by raindrops. That usually means he'll hide
under my chin -- not exactly dry, but at least his head is I suppose.
In the shower he'll sometimes play in the water by ruffling
up his feathers, but typically he'll just stand there and look like he
wants it to all end. I'm taking him over to a friend's house, where
he can watch other birds play in the water, so perhaps he'll do the
"rain dance" sooner or later.
- New Pictures I have a pile of new pictures, but
for now all you get to see are two cute ones where he's holding a name
plate with his name on it. They're both out of focus, but you have to
be quick to keep that beak from making large dents in soft plastic.
Here's
one, and here's
the other.
- Bird-Friends He gets to see other birds quite a
bit these days. I know the risks, but he seems to enjoy it so much I
am willing to take them. I don't yet have the other pictures online,
but I will soon.
- Toys I have pretty much stopped buying toys
at pet stores, and instead shop at
birdthings
for the toys, food, and so on.
- Vet I take Nyassa to Fern Vansant at "For The
Birds" -- which doesn't seem to have a web site yet. It's in Los
Gatos, CA, and is a very good place to take a bird, since that's all
they do there. I do listen to everything Fern and the rest of the
staff tell me, but I always make up my own mind on things. No matter
who your vet is, you should do the same.
- Sleeping Nyassa has a sleep cage now, in my
bedroom. I put him there when it gets dark, and get him up when the
sun comes up. I then go back to bed for a few hours, since I was up
much later than he was. If I sleep on the couch, he is nice enough to
stay quiet until I wake up, too. That's very nice of him.
- Personality Nyassa is an amazingly friendly bird,
so I have been told, for a Grey. Usually they aren't as
social/friendly to others as he is. He'll step up for just about
anyone, and usually whistles at them while on a hand. He whistles at
people as they walk by my office door. They whistle back, and a
little ping/pong game starts. I actually think he thinks he's a
maccaw, not a grey.
- Moulting He started this about 4 months ago, and
it's been going on since. The breeder gave him a rather severe wing
clip, and he managed to grow out two new primaries, one on each wing.
However, one was damaged, and broke. It had to be pulled. It hurt me
worse than him, I think. In any case, he has lost 4 covering feathers
today (that I saw in his beak, and took away from him) and what seems
like hundreds of downy feathers. In reality, they are probably only
10 or so, but they pile up fast.
That's all for today. I'll try to write more often, rather than
having a large mega-update.
|
|
|
