The Furry & Feathery Gang

May 9, 2014 No comments Article

Birds are fast learners. After hanging out a couple of times in the same setting, XB was getting too comfortable and she kept trying to sit on my shoulder (which is very annoying because she’ll keep flying back to your shoulder each time you put her back into the playpen.)

This is a sign that she is bored, thus I scouted for a new friend for her – Teddy.

I’d like to say that they became close pals. XB took a fancy in Teddy’s fur and started preening him non-stop. First there was his knitted sweater..

Then it was his beard.

And his toes..

It took her a while to settle back down and let me get a proper shot of them two. So adorable isn’t it?

Ending the post with XB’s yawn which coincidentally looked like she is claiming her territory, declaring her dominance over Teddy. Ok, it’s really just a yawn 😛

Follow

Heavy heart

May 8, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

We posted sometime ago that we were expecting our first batch of American White Parrotlet babies. Unfortunately, they were all infertile. We’ve since removed the nest to let the pair recuperate. It’s sad to see the eggs not work out, but we’ve been warned that American White is a relatively new color mutation of Parrotlets so they might be less prolific compared to the other Blue/Green mutations due to prior inbreeding.

I thought XB’s expression below was a perfect expression of a heavy heart with a sad news. So solemn.

Well, there is always next time! Ending the post with a hopeful expression from XB as well. Amazing how they can pull off so many different emotions with those tiny eyes and small beak 😛

Till then! 🙂

Follow

XB Frolicking with a stretched paper clip

May 6, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

Every animal has their playful side. Parrotlet is no different!

In the last bonding time spent over the weekend, besides insisting to stand on my hand as I type on the keyboard, XB spent a great deal of time exploring objects on the tabletop.

Parrotlets can see a full spectrum of colors (unlike dogs who are colorblind) and they’re particularly attracted to bright, vibrant objects.

In between my follow up training (as instructed by E) to teach her “Pick Up”, I realize she has a strong affinity to chew on the paper clip that was meant to be the “teaching prop”.

I turned her on her belly and handed her the paper clip. She entertained herself for a good 5 mins, chewing away in the most UNGLAM poses.

It was till this moment, that I realize she really wasn’t as graceful as I had expected. You’ve been warned.

She was in all sorts of angles, frolicking that stretched out paper clip. It was hilarious.

It never fails to amaze me how once Parrotlet “stamps” their chop of affirmation on the object, you can do anything with it and they’re fine by that. So, I gave her a headscratch using the paper clip. She was more than delighted.

There you have it, XB’s unglam moments. Till next time! 🙂

Follow

Home playtime for XB

May 4, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

Since E is away on holiday, I’ve been tasked with the posts for this week!

We make an effort to spend some time with XB on a daily basis. Today is our very first solo bonding session (typically we do it together or E does it alone).

I set up a playpen for her while I was surfing the net but her being the little sticky nonsense she is, she decided she had to sit on my hand while I type. It was such a precious moment I quickly took a few snapshots to capture it. Such a darling!

As I was offloading the pictures from the camera into the PC, she continued to sit on my hand till she dosed off. Love it when she fluffs up into a furry ball as she sleeps. It takes a lot of trust for a bird to fall asleep next to you because they’ve to be perfectly sure the environment is safe to do so.

I thought the backdrop with her picture on my monitor screen and her sitting on my hand was super candid! I had to balance the camera in one hand while pretending to leave the other on the keyboard. XB was surprisingly cooperative 🙂

I’ve more adorable pictures of this cute baby from the playpen. Shall post it up next week after I’m done sorting. Till then! 🙂

Follow

Video: Xiaobai’s “Turn Around” Trick

May 3, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

This is a video of XB doing the “Turn Around” trick!

This trick took her only about 3 days to learn, since she was always so food motivated.

I’m using millet spray as her training reward, since that seems to be her favorite.

More details in in the Playtime section on training for this trick!

Follow

XB’s First Parrot Outing!

April 27, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

Today we brought XB (Xiaobai) to her very first parrot outing at Serangoon North!

(More photos available in the Gallery section!)

XB has always been very chirpy, bold and active during her playtime at home. However she always seemed reserved around new people or environments.

To help her get better adjusted to crowds and new surroundings, we decided to bring her to the local parrot gathering!

This is actually that little corner just outside of Goodwill at Serangoon North Ave 1. They have immense perches of varying sizes for parrot owners to bring their feathered herd to gather for an afternoon of fun.

There were macaws, budgies, lovebirds, cockatoos all around, but sadly we did not see any other parrotlet there.

We took XB out at a quiet corner of the space, and as expected, she froze. She was tense and nervous, and was peeking at the world around her from between my fingers. Fortunately, she eased up very quickly after about 15mins, and started being more active. The millet spray I had in my hand helped. 🙂

We had her perching on the different perches and areas, but were careful to avoid having her too close to her gigantic cousins. There was this one time she decided to go snuggle up with this huge and grumpy looking Amazon and I had to quickly remove her, since we were not familiar with that huge Amazon.

And of course, we took a ton of photos in that nice sunny weather! Will definitely start bringing her out more often to meet people and to socialize with other parrots, as we believe that will be beneficial to her.

Once she got more comfortable with the multitude of sounds and sights around her, she began relaxing, even preening herself while on my hand. She even managed to perform her two tricks while we were there! And we managed to capture some nice videos 🙂 So stay tuned!

(More photos available in the Gallery section!)

Follow

Hello world!

April 16, 2014 No comments Article

Follow

We’re currently expecting our first batch of babies from the newly adopted American White (Diluted Blue) Parrotlets. Initially 5 eggs were laid but the mother bird got into a little accident where her feet was injured and hence she was away from the nest for more than 12 hours.

As a result, the first egg died. We’ve since removed the bad egg and now it leaves 4 hopeful eggs in the nest. The expected date of delivery for the first egg is set for 21st April 2014. Fingers crossed! 😛

Follow