New to the community!

jaxyk

New member
Mar 19, 2017
11
0
Northern Canada
Parrots
2 green cheek male conures, 5 and 4 yrs old
Hi everyone,

Have just joined your community after reading some of the threads - some good advice shared from members, and obviously a lot of people passionate about our feathery friends.

My husband and I live in northern Canada, a little remote, but we love it. He's a pilot and I work in government communications. We have two little guys, Kermit (5) and Bean (4), green cheek conures, and it's our first experience with two birds together.

Keith grew up with birds, and I was introduced to them when we met. Our first little man together was Stickyfeet, a budgie, who was the most amazing little protector, non-stop talker, and beautiful little heart - he developed a tumour at 6 and was gone in three months. We rescued Boo, our red crested kakariki, from a pet shop here, where they were keeping his cage by the door. He was mostly wild, but quickly adapted and we became his flock. He started having problems with his eyes, and after investigating (through an avian vet in Calgary), he had TB, just affecting his eyes. We started him on medications, and he was doing so well, but it was too much for his little body and we lost him.

Kermit and Bean have been with us since October 2013, and together since Bean was 3 months. They've learned to fly, take baths and have developed very independent personalities while being glued together. And more recently, some strong behaviours...

We don't have dedicated avian vets up here - one of the vets is a bird owner, and treats his own birds, so he is knowledgeable, but not a trained avian vet. We used to bring Boo down to Calgary, so we have a good connection with the vet that treated him.

Looking forward to discussions and advice in this forum!

Thanks,
Jacki
 

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texsize

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welcome to the forum.
lots of friendly advice and many Conure owners here.
texsize
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Welcome to the forums, Jacki and Keith! Beautiful pic of Kermit and Bean, they look full of personality!!

Hopefully they will remain healthy, but at least you have a nearby vet with some experience. He should be able to identify situations beyond his skill-set and refer you the distance to the Calgary area.
 

israel_gcc

New member
Mar 19, 2017
56
1
Israel
Parrots
Green Cheek Conure, b. ~Sept. 2016
What beautiful birds! I'm a new user too - I just adopted a GCC last week, and I'm looking forward to benefitting from your experience ;)
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Welcome!
So glad to have you as a member.
*Patagonian hugzszzzszszsz*
 
OP
J

jaxyk

New member
Mar 19, 2017
11
0
Northern Canada
Parrots
2 green cheek male conures, 5 and 4 yrs old
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

And yes, we are north - about 2 hours by plane north of Calgary, where we got Kermit and Bean, and we've been here in Yellowknife for about 10 years. It's a fantastic place, but, well, the snow, and some pretty cold days. There's a small bird community up here, but we're not connected, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

I have a ton of stories about the boys, and hoping I benefit from the experiences here to shed a little light on these amazingly complex little guys who surprise us every day. Kermit speaks in full sentences, for pete's sake.

Thanks!
Jacki
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

And yes, we are north - about 2 hours by plane north of Calgary, where we got Kermit and Bean, and we've been here in Yellowknife for about 10 years. It's a fantastic place, but, well, the snow, and some pretty cold days. There's a small bird community up here, but we're not connected, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

I have a ton of stories about the boys, and hoping I benefit from the experiences here to shed a little light on these amazingly complex little guys who surprise us every day. Kermit speaks in full sentences, for pete's sake.

Thanks!
Jacki

Wow, you are well north of Calgary! Wonder if you might have the inclination and time to start a bird-club for your small community?

Is Keith a professional pilot? If so, what does he fly? (feel free to PM me if preferable!)
 

Violet_Diva

Member
Aug 30, 2016
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Norfolk (England)
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Bella (Vosmaeri Eclectus Female) + Dexter (Red Sided Eclectus Male) + Gerry (Vosmaeri Eclectus Male)
Hello and welcome. Thanks for sharing with us all. Love the names Kermit & Bean! They look like a cheeky double act. Please feel free to share stories and photos - im looking forward to reading all about your fids!
 
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J

jaxyk

New member
Mar 19, 2017
11
0
Northern Canada
Parrots
2 green cheek male conures, 5 and 4 yrs old
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #12
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

And yes, we are north - about 2 hours by plane north of Calgary, where we got Kermit and Bean, and we've been here in Yellowknife for about 10 years. It's a fantastic place, but, well, the snow, and some pretty cold days. There's a small bird community up here, but we're not connected, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

I have a ton of stories about the boys, and hoping I benefit from the experiences here to shed a little light on these amazingly complex little guys who surprise us every day. Kermit speaks in full sentences, for pete's sake.

Thanks!
Jacki

Wow, you are well north of Calgary! Wonder if you might have the inclination and time to start a bird-club for your small community?

Is Keith a professional pilot? If so, what does he fly? (feel free to PM me if preferable!)

Hey Scott, we are well north :) and I know one bird family that just moved to the east coast - we used to share stories and experiences. I'm truly not sure about others - I was thinking facebook might be a good outlet.

And yes, Keith's a professional pilot, he's flown a number of planes; caravans, single otters, beavers, twin otters, buffalos, and for the last couple of years, an RJ85 jet. He's recently been doing bush work in the twin, and this weekend, he's doing aerial tours for the Long John Jamboree - our end of winter festival that's on the ice of Great Slave Lake.

Cheers!
Jacki
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
And yes, Keith's a professional pilot, he's flown a number of planes; caravans, single otters, beavers, twin otters, buffalos, and for the last couple of years, an RJ85 jet. He's recently been doing bush work in the twin, and this weekend, he's doing aerial tours for the Long John Jamboree - our end of winter festival that's on the ice of Great Slave Lake.

Cheers!
Jacki

What an awesome repertoire of aircraft! I would love to have some "round engine" experience in the bush! RJ85 is a robust and nimble bird, nothing like a fist-full of 4 thrust levers!! I'm into the final decade flying a boring A320, and as time goes on I'm romanticizing my earlier turboprop regional airline flying. Weird!
 
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J

jaxyk

New member
Mar 19, 2017
11
0
Northern Canada
Parrots
2 green cheek male conures, 5 and 4 yrs old
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #14
What an awesome repertoire of aircraft! I would love to have some "round engine" experience in the bush! RJ85 is a robust and nimble bird, nothing like a fist-full of 4 thrust levers!! I'm into the final decade flying a boring A320, and as time goes on I'm romanticizing my earlier turboprop regional airline flying. Weird!

Oh that's cool that you're a pilot! I know more about planes than I ever thought I would, but they're a big deal up here. People step onto the smaller planes like they're taxis - basically the north was built by the bush pilots. It's not always romantic though - Keith and his copilot ran into some difficulty a few weeks ago and ended up having to camp overnight in -40C. They get pretty rigorous survival training, so they're definitely well prepared, but being in the situation certainly takes them through their paces.

Keith's enjoying the RJ - apart from the sim training that takes them to Switzerland, he loves the size and the mechanics of it, although he's not as much of a fan of the autopilot :)
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
What an awesome repertoire of aircraft! I would love to have some "round engine" experience in the bush! RJ85 is a robust and nimble bird, nothing like a fist-full of 4 thrust levers!! I'm into the final decade flying a boring A320, and as time goes on I'm romanticizing my earlier turboprop regional airline flying. Weird!

Oh that's cool that you're a pilot! I know more about planes than I ever thought I would, but they're a big deal up here. People step onto the smaller planes like they're taxis - basically the north was built by the bush pilots. It's not always romantic though - Keith and his copilot ran into some difficulty a few weeks ago and ended up having to camp overnight in -40C. They get pretty rigorous survival training, so they're definitely well prepared, but being in the situation certainly takes them through their paces.

Keith's enjoying the RJ - apart from the sim training that takes them to Switzerland, he loves the size and the mechanics of it, although he's not as much of a fan of the autopilot :)

Taxis indeed, aircraft are a vital lifeline for folks in such areas. Glad Keith receives serious survival training as -40C is pretty rough! Despite a few winter layovers in Fairbanks AK, never experienced anything like that!

Make sure Keith brings home some of Switzerland's finest chocolates! :)
 

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