Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Hi again, Donna - 
    
    We started with one Amazon parrot and now have a bunch of different
    birds, including the original one, which we got a mate for.  This
    hobby does grow on you!
    
    I hope you will keep asking questions here in the notes file and 
    let us know how things are going.  The conference is still small
    enough that there is space and time and patience for everybody
    to have their say.
    
    Good luck with your bird family!
    
    Linda

Congrats on the new bird!  I've always thought mustache parakeets were pretty
and unique-looking. What kind of pet is yours?  How tame is he/she?  Are
mustache parakeets loud birds?  At some of the bird shows here in Atlanta,
this particular aviary will bring a huge cage full of them (not hand fed),
and I've always wondered what kind of pet a hand-fed would make.

Roseanne 

    
    Donna, not to frighten you or anything, but when Linda says she now has
    a bunch of different birds, she's making a serious understatement :-)
    
    Me, I started with one bird in 1984; my current count is 42, and now
    I'm looking for more.  I can quit any time I want.  Really. :-) :-)
    
    Congrats on the new baby.  Moustaches are beautiful birds, and I
    understand that they are really sweet.  I have heard that they, like
    Ringnecks, should be handled really frequently to keep them that way. 
    My understanding is that they do not form the same kinds of strong
    pairbonds with their mates in the wild as do, say, cockatoos, amazons,
    and macaws, so they will be a little more independent in nature than
    these other sorts of birds.
    
    					/Rita
    

    Hello,
    
    Bandit is three months old. He was hand fed up untill three weeks
    ago, we got him 15-Sep. What an experence I have never had a baby
    before. The first day he ate very little and through the following
    days his apetite has grown. The first couple of days my husband
    and myself would hand feed him his seed to make sure he got enough
    food and also water. I was paranoid he was starving or sick I did
    not want anything to go unnoticed, my husband said after the bird
    he is not looking forward to having kids with me (ha ha ha)
    
    The first night Bandit slept on the floor of the cage he did not
    perch and also he did not tuck his head in back of himself needless
    to say I called the Breeder and the breeder said he is just getting
    used to his new home give him untill tuesday to eat well and sleep
    better. The breeder was right last night was Bandit's first night
    sleeping on a perch and he eats better and better every day.
     
    I would not buy a bird that was not hand fed for a pet, their
    personality has no comparison. Also hand feed birds will taste
    just about any food you hand them others will not, well I sould not
    say that but that is how my hand fed birds have acted for me.
    The breeder said don't put bandit with another Mustache Parakeet
    or he will revert sp? back just as if he was never hand feed.
    Also I have heard that the birds that are not hand fed are not 
    as nice for pets they will still talk but don't like to be handled.
    The breeder also said we would need to spend extra time with bandit
    I guess so he does not forget that he likes to be handled if we
    leave him alone too much I guess he might become mean I was not
    realy paying attention to my husband and the breeder while the were
    talking I was loving on Bandit. The breeder I went to is John Boswell
    (Boswell's Aviary's) in California about three hours from San
    Francisco.
    So far Bandit has not been loud, as a matter of fact he is not as
    noisey as my cockatiel. 
    
    Sorry to go on, know how a new mother is about her baby.
   
    Donna

    
    Hi,
      I too have a moustache parakeet named Bandit!  We brought him home
    when he was 9 weeks old and didn't really know what to expect.  He came
    from Wingsong in Merrimack as a hand fed baby and they only told us the
    basics about moustaches...they are independent and they can talk some.
    Well....we have sure learned alot!!  Bandit is now about 6 months old
    and is also known as the green terror.  He can be very agressive, isn't
    overly fond of being touched and he can talk.  Vocabulary so far
    consists of: Hi! What cha doin'? , Hola!, whats up, gooood, Ah Ah, let
    go!, and various other noises that I make.  He is very independent, he
    plays by himself in his cage and on the playground that hubby made.  He
    loves people food, and his dish of fresh veggies and fruit every
    morning.  He's not crazy about seed but will find a pine nut buried in
    anything.  He's going through his fist molt so right now he looks awful
    but I do see some pinkish/peach feathers coming through on his chest. 
    We're hoping he's a male but his beak is still black (though it hasn't
    turned completely yet) so only time will tell!  He isn't very noisy but
    has started to make more noise lately, but he gabs to himself alot.
    He doesn't tolerate any other birds in his territory so he has to be
    supervised carefully if the other birds are out.  He is a fun loving
    and entertaining bird and though I didn't really know what I was in for
    I don't regret falling for him at all!  I was a fairly experienced bird
    owner and I don't think I would be enjoying him as much if I wasn't. 
    It takes time and patience to deal with him and a real novice might be
    discouraged.  He's not sweet like a cockatiel, but he's just what I was
    looking for.  Keep an eye out for Bird Talk as they will be have a
    feature soon (can't remember what month) an Asiatic birds, ringnecks, 
    moustache etc.  Enjoy your Bandit!!
    
    MaryAnne

    Hello MaryAnne,
    
    Yes we too have discovered that he is the little bird from Hell
    when it comes to destroying his cage. Right now I have him in a
    small cockatiel cage with no grate at the bottom. Bacause he is
    on the bottom so much I have been using paper towels to absorb
    bird stuff. Well my husband was the first to get home yesterday
    and he called me at work to tell me Bandit trashed the joint we
    had little pieces of paper towels all around his area and he tipped
    the food dish over then proceded to toss all the seed and fresh
    veggie's onto the floor (boy I love baby's) He has two toys hanging
    in his cage but I think he still got bored. I think Bandit is too
    smart to just sit in a cage that is too small all day it makes him
    mischievous. We are going to a Bird Extravaganza this Saturday to
    buy Bandit a bigger cage and more toys I hope this helps his michievous
    behavior. 
    I too have noticed that Bandit does not like to be scratched behind
    his head but I can hold him upside down for a short time he also
    is a little nippy sp? but he has not broken the skin yet -Thank
    goodness!
    
    Thank you for the insight!
    
    Donna

    
    Hi Donna,
    
    We have Bandit in a Hagen cockatiel flight cage, outfitted with a
    pinecone seed treat that acts as a step, a kong suspended on a "bird
    kabob" (I forget the real name for it) and one other hanging toy that
    gets alternated regularly.  He does get bored!  He loves to chew things
    so the wooden lollipops have worked well but I'm always on the lookout
    for new toys too!  As for biting....well he can get a bit over zealous
    but I had to laugh this morning...he always bites the hand that feeds
    him, though he isn't biting as hard anymore, and as I was putting his
    seed dish in his cage this morning he reached over, said Hola! and had
    a gentle "taste" of my hand.  Such a BIG personality in such a SMALL
    bird!!
    
    MaryAnne

	I saw one down at Boston Pet, but I don't know whether it has sold
	or not.

	As with everything Animal Environments makes the small cage is
	pricey...but very nice.

	Plus, should you have to have someone else change the food and
	water, it is wonderful to have outside accessible food and water
	dishes that are impossible to turn over.

	Well, I say impossible with a grain of salt, since Pat Walz'
	macaw KoKo has managed to drop them from inside the cage, but
	that is an exceptional bird!

	The small AE cages have all the same features as the larger ones,
	just in a compact size.

	Also Chelmsford Pet Care and Fins and Feathers in Chelmsford have
	excellent cage selections.

	Hmmm...but since I am not sure where you live, this may all be sorta'
	worthless... :-)

	-dick

    MaryAnne,
    
    Last night Bob and I took bandit to have his wings clipped for the
    first time, after that we went to chinese dinner Bandit loves chinese
    food it was great this was his first outing we had him in out cats
    carrier. (even whti his wings clipped I did not want him out in
    public) After we got home we let him get accustom to his new wings
    and he found one of the cat's toys a plastic ball with a bell in
    the middle he loved it untill he broke a small piece of plastic
    off them mom took it away, it looked real cute he would fetch it
    just like a dog and carry it around, so tomorrow I am on a quest
    for a bird proof ball with bell.
    
    Dick,
    
    What is an AE cage? Where do you get them? Bird Talk?
    My husband is looking for a cage that is stainless steel instead
    of painted he says they will stay nice looking longer.
    I have my cockatiel in a cage with outside accessible food 
    dishes and my sister-in-law has food dishes that sit on the 
    bottom of the cage I am still trying to decide which I like better.
    
    Donna
     
    BTW I live in Castro Valley California about 1/2 hour from  
    San Francisco. 

    

	Animal Environments is a small cage company located in California.
	I first saw the cage in BT and it was recommended highly by both 
	Susan Forrester and Pat Walz of Bird Talk.

	I know that Pat has two Animal Environment cages, one for each of
	her macaws.  

	I ordered directly from the company, and it took close to 12 weeks,
	since they make each cage by hand, and are selling more than they
	can make, or at least they were when I was purchasing the cage.

	AE made three size cages, one for Macaws, one for Cockatoos, and
	one for Africans/Amazons.  Since that time, AE has come out with 
	a smaller cage for cockatiels, lorries, and indian/african parrakeets,
	it is made to the same specifications as the larger cages.

	Yes, it is powder/paint covered over steel.  I have seen a cage in
	BT that looked similar to an AE cage that claimed it was stainless
	steel, but I have not seen one in person.  

	Living in California, it might be worth a field trip to AE to see
	the cage and if you are going to buy one, get it at the factory
	showroom.  

	With a macaw, especially one who is not "real fond" of strangers,
	if you need a bird sitter, you don't really want someone to have to
	stick their hand into the cage to retrieve the food bowls.  In addition,
	the AE design makes it impossible to `foul' either the food or the
	water bowl from inside the cage.  People tend to be scared of Avalon,
	and I am fairly sure he knows that and just enjoys the hell out of it.

	If you get a chance to see a good stainless steel cage, please put
	a report in the NOTESfile, as I am sure that even an AE cage might
	someday wear out.

	-dick

    Hi Dick,
    
    Well I did not get a chance to read notes before the Bird show
    in San Francisco Saturday we bought Bandit a Hoye sp? cage it is 
    about 3'6" tall and 2'6" wide it came with the outside accessible 
    food dishes but right now we are using the ceramic dishes on the floor.
    The cage looks like it's Copper but it's not.
    
    Thanks!
    Donna 
    

    Hi!  Dick is right, I own two AE cages and I think that by far
    they are the easiest to clean, enviornmentally the best for the
    bird, and actually contain the mess.  
    
    They are expensive, but beautiful.....
    
    I am thinking of employing KoKo as a cage tester . . . .  he can
    destroy, remove, unlock just about anything.  I have had to retrofit
    the AE cage to prevent him from removing the food bowls AND the 
    things which hold them.  
    
    Phoebe, on the other hand, hasn't figured any of this out.  She's
    cute, but dumb.
    
    Rico, my nape, is in an Inglebrook cage:  nice, but hard to clean
    and the mess goes everywhere.  Bubba, my grey, is in a wraught iron
    homemade second hand cage which he refuses to part with.  Greys!
    
    KoKo's original cage was a Prevue, but again, the mess went everywhere.
    
    If I had the money, they would all have AE cages.
    
    Pat
    
    
    P.S.  As a side note, KoKo is learning to push the dome off the top
    of his cage.  What's a mom to do?
    

	Hmmm...Av discovered that trick also.  I talked to the owner of
	AE, and he recommended drilling thru bars and running a metal screw
	thru and then backing two nuts against each other.

	I took the easy way out, and just used a "U" over each of the four
	sides to keep Av from poppin' the top.

	-dick

    you could also use C links (big ones!) to keep the top on.
    Fortunately my Koko hasn't figured out how to undo them yet, but
    can undo lots of other latches.
    
    Ed
    

    	I construct a 'play-area' on top of Basil's (a Grey) cage for him
    to perch when he's out. This consists of a few knobbly branches held
    together with something robust, such as nuts & bolts.
    
    	Well, I think he's inherited some of the engineer from me. Instead
    of attacking the 'open' branches, he heads straight for the joints. He
    does not rest until he has destroyed the joint (nut & bolt). It's quite
    funny to watch the lot collapse underneath him when he inevitably
    succeeds. His expression says "what the **** happened ?", as he
    recovers on the ground - some 5 feet down !!!  It's similar to the
    cartoon scenario where the character perched on a branch saws/chews the
    part of the branch nearest the trunk !
    
    Jim Burke

    
    Check the November issue of Bird Talk.  This is the one with the
    article containing input on Moustache Parakeets along with some photos.
    
    MaryAnne