Home!

[Wulfgeist]

Went to visit Jasper today and tossed the carrier in the car for the heck of it. As soon as I walked in the manager asked if I had my carrier and would like to take him home a day early! Yay!

He did well on the car ride home and is adjusting to his new bedroom. I notice he likes to sit on the bottom of his cage alot. Is that normal or something he's doing because he's not used to climbing around in this cage? He was stuck in a baby cage at the store and spent alot of time on the floor I think she said.

He's not overly keen on his new home yet but he's clearly interested in all the shiny new toys available to him. They also sent me home with the toys that were in his cage so he would have something familiar. I thought that was very nice of them but now I am going to have to be the one to keep retying those beads on those leather ties LOL

We have an appt Friday morning to visit an avian vet about an hour and half away down in Illinois for his wellness check and whatever vaccines. I'm pondering having him microchipped but is that an outpatient thing? I thought I might have read somewhere they put them out for that and I'm not entirely keen on that idea.

 

[roxynoodle]

Congrats on bringing Jasper home.

Merlin spends a lot of time on the bottom of her cage. She eats down there, plays down there and even naps down there once in awhile. It can be hard to tell if they are sick or not with that behavior. As long as he is eating, playing and vocalizing (if he does that at all yet; probably not), he is probably fine. But, it's good you are taking him to the vet, and then you will know for sure.

Right now she is chilling out on her piece of 2x4 on the bottom of the cage. But, she has been her normal self all day and just ate a bunch of veggies so I'm sure she is fine. Yes, it is weird to adjust to having such a ground dwelling bird when conures and amazons spend most of their time up high.

But, I did know she was sick after having her only 6 days so I am pretty confident that if she is sick again I will know. Let's hope!

 

[mnkeastman]

Congrats on his being home

 

[Mayden]

For Microchipping they are put to sleep for around 5 mins max, but on larger birds not as much.

If he is put to sleep don't be anxious, it really is very safe. Some animals have bad reactions but if that is the case then the vets will be able to handle it just fine. Don't panic, I remember being slightly anxious as I sat in the waiting room (since it was only around 10 mins long). It's well worth that slight anxiousness, in favour of a higher likelyhood of getting your baby back if he were to go missing.

Congrats on your new addition, pictures are certainly wanted! ^^

 

[Rio Mom]

Congrats on bringing home baby!!

 

[Wulfgeist]

Aww Roxynoodle I hope Ms Merlin is ok. She probably is fine and like you said, you would probably know if she seemed off.

We were doing real good til he tried to swoop over here and steal my KFC. I had just given him some veggies but he acted hungry still. I have shown him where his dishes of food are but he didn't eat until I went and got a sort of tip proof bowl and put his pellet mix in that on the corner of the desk. Have to eat with the flock I guess.

He's not too vocal *yet*. He does his "want food" beep and assorted grumbling monster noises as well as a peeping contact call. He's been super sweet so far, ah the honeymoon.

He's been checking out his toys and doing some playing and trying to chew on the cage screws, what else can one expect lol

I have introduced him to the cats already. I think it would be more upsetting and distracting with them whining and clawing at the closed door. They are interested a bit, he was hesitant at first but is relaxing around them. I told him he has every right to bite any noses or toes that come into his cage.

He is climbing around in his cage right now, I think looking for a way out. He is very snuggly with me today and I can understand what a big change this is for him. The bad part is he wants to be on my shoulder and I said absolutely not at this stage in the game.

Actually I just figured out it's not my shoulder but the back of my computer chair he's trying to get to.

I only got one picture of him today, I was busy getting my computer set back up in this room again.

 

[Mayden]

Lovely setup and what a pretty birdy. Can't wait for more pics!

+ make sure those cats do keep their noses and tosies out! Don't want either injured

 

[Wulfgeist]

They are respectful of the beak because Tico chases them around when he gets on the floor. I think they realize this one has a beak as well and it's much..bigger.

 

[roxynoodle]

My cat and Merlin have been having very gentle exchanges, actually. Usually when Sadie goes over there and stands up at the bottom of the cage, Merlin comes and gives her a kiss. However, Sadie and Pete play "terrorize" every day. Thankfully I always bought cages with smaller bar spacing or that cat would be missing her nose and toes, and my bird would be scratched. They are both so aggressive with each other, but I can tell they both love it.

Merlin did growl at Sadie when Sadie tried to play with her with one of her little foot toys. And Sadie backed off and then sat down and just watched her.

 

[roxynoodle]

In the wild, Greys spend most of their day on the ground, and then at night, they go up into a tree to sleep. Merlin seems to have that instinct. I'm sure she feels very safe here or she wouldn't nap down there ever. She spends the night though up at the top on her cement perch.

 

[kc_y0]

Nice cage and what a cute little guy awww! I would really love a grey! One day lol. My bird likes to spend time on the bottom of her cage too, its a little scary but she mainly plays down there lol.

 

[roxynoodle]

When she did have that bacterial infection when I first got her, she did spend the night sleeping at the bottom of her cage. She also stopped playing and wasn't really eating. That's when I said, hmm, I do think this bird is sick, and I was right.

She does have the annoying habit now of pretending she is having a seizure just to get me to come running. So now every day around 11am she will go down there and sit really still with her head down just to get me to love on her. I've gotten used to that now, too, lol! Very smart little girl! But since she can feign illness, I need to be extra vigilant with her.

 

[Wulfgeist]

Oh no, that is not a good thing for her to mimic, silly but smart girl.

I'm not really worried that he is sick, I guess I'm worried that his development might be hindered due to the cage he was in there. I probably shouldn't worry, while I was fixing his breakfast he was on the perch on his door, at one point when I returned he had climbed up to the top of the cage. I suppose it will just be him getting used to getting around. He'll especially have to have to deal with the little ladder things on the top since they are so thin.

He didn't eat much of his breakfast, bean cuisine and some veggies. I don't think the bean cuisine might have been cooked enough. It's a new thing to me (I don't do many veggies) so I'll have to get used to perfecting that. I have to run errands this morning so I'm going to try taking him in the bathroom with me while I shower. I have the perch on the mirror and have taken him in there to look already. I think he was trying to snuggle up to that big grey bird he saw.

 

[roxynoodle]

It probably will take time for him to develop his athletic skills. Heck, Pete is doing that at his age because his previous owner had him in this tiny cage with just one perch. He couldn't really move around, and he didn't know what toys were. He does sometimes slip on his perch while he is playing now, but he's getting more athletic all the time.

I was told Merlin is clumsy and unathletic, but I think a little is her vision problems, and I think she likes the smaller bar spacing I have. She seems to have no issues at all climbing, and she hangs upside down by one toe and twirls around. I think the huge bar spacing on the cage at her previous owner's house was just hard for her, especially with not being able to see. As far as I can tell, she is very athletic.