Everything is a toy - a journal by Nico and I

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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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9/26/18 - Today's favorite toy: A hanging set of metallic dice that he picked out himself at the pet store downtown a few weeks ago.
Today was the first day of class for M. She slept in a bit and I was good boy waiting quietly for her to wake up and refill my food. I gots yogurt last night and was hoping for more but didn't get any… poop. Mommy wents to class and I sat at home waiting and playing. She came home in just 2 1/2 hours and surprised me with a walk downtown after a quick nap. We wents to a back-to-school festival event, and I gots to meet lots of people and get lots of pets and admiring stares (I's a beautiful boy). I got scared by the fireworks at the end but Mommy tooks me home and I went to bed.
-Nico

Nico seemed to have had fun today, walking around downtown and being showered with attention. One thing I worried about today though, is that there were a lot of people smoking cigarettes downtown. People kept smoking and the wind would blow the smoke in our direction… There was only so much I could do to keep Nico out of it. Even worse, I got home and discovered that someone who lives on a floor below me somewhere had been smoking marijuana. I had naively left the window open for fresh air (with screen of course, and I live on the seventh floor) and my room smelled of the nasty stuff. I talked to my neighbors on the 6th floor and they complained that their rooms smelled as well.
-M
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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Here's the video of Nico performing his "shake" trick!

[ame="https://youtu.be/sNYQVLH9Zj0"]Nico doing his first trick… Shake! - YouTube[/ame]
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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10/3/18 - Today's favorite toy - M's favorite pen.
Nico was very good today while I was doing my homework! He usually likes to chew on my notebooks, creating a "my bird ate my homework" situation, lol. I work with foreign exchange students and they keep asking about him since they've seen him on campus. I've also earned the moniker "Bird Girl" downtown… which I'm not mad about!
I've been pretty busy the past few days, so I haven't updated this log (oops). Nico has been let out for at least 3 hours every evening though, and he gets lots of little extra treats (more frequent baths, walks, and time with my roommate who dotes on him) here and there so I'm not too worried. He's recently learned to recognize when I'm talking to him or asking a question, and chirps or makes grunting noises in response. He's mid-molt and his head and neck are basically pin feather galore, so we spend a few minutes every day trying to get the ones that poke him badly. I swear he also spends time sharpening his claws (I've got two sanding perches in his cage but they're still pretty sharp) so he and I are having weekly spats about filing down his nails using the Hertzko electric nail file.
-M
 

Inger

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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
For some reason I hadn’t read this until today. What a fun record!

About flying home for holidays-if you fly on Alaska, they only charge $100 each way to bring a pet. You have to reserve in advance but it was pretty easy and that way you don’t have to worry about ESA status (they will honor that at this time, but that could change in the future since so many people abuse it). I’ve flown once with Bumble, and Sunnyclover flies with her conures frequently so either of us can give you tips.

Are you at Western? Such a beautiful campus!




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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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10/5/18 - Today's favorite toy: A colorful toy in his cage with thin sheets of wood, string, a wicker ball, and plastic/wooden beads.
M's boyfriend came to visit today. Nico is not a big fan of boys (he was especially wary of them the last couple of months but he seems to be getting better) but he has always liked Ty (boyfriend/Nico's "I-guess"-dad) and our male roommate. This was a special day for all of us, since Ty lives a couple of hours away and only visits once a month or so. Nico got lots of pets and his weekly yogurt treat. He usually refuses to "shake" to anyone's finger but M's but successfully performed for Ty today! Right now we are turning our apartment's heater on for the first time since summer began, it's definitely fall now.
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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10/5/18
Haha- I just turned up the heat and he loves it, went to where the warm air hits him and started chirping and basking in the warmth!
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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10/6/18 - Today’s favorite toy: Mommy’s hair.
Today was Saturday, Mommy stayed home! She gaves me lotsa attention, cuddle time and music time. Bummed we didnt go on walk though, I likes the outdoors! Mommy says “If I’m bald by 40, it’s your fault”.. but oh c’mon, it’s so fun to chew!
-Nico
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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10/18/18 - Today's favorite toy: Mommy's earlobe (mild ouch).
Oops, we haven't updated in a while! M's been really busy with school work and extracurriculars, especially since Nico attends most of the extracurriculars if it's nice outside! A lot of back and forth between school and home to grab Nico put his harness on, grabbing treats and water, and heading back out to school. Nico's been very happy going to extracurriculars and walks on campus, he soaks up the attention and people are very impressed with how well-behaved he is! It's nearing winter here in Bellingham, and M is trying to get the most out of the last sunny days of fall before it gets too cold to take Nico outside.
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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Here's a recent photo of Nico on campus! Don't worry, I make sure he won't fall into the fountain, and he has never showed interest in it anyway.

 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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This post recently went viral on campus… The photo was taken on my birthday (Info Fair Day). People all over were texting me about it (I don't have Facebook). They took it without my permission but I gotta admit… the top photo is amazing.

 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Full house
Beautiful pictures both of them! How wonderful your GCC is harness trained and enjoying these outings!
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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11/1/18 - Today's favorite toy: disposable wooden chopsticks we got from a friend.
Nico tried eating Nutriberries for the first time, it took him a couple of days to realize that it was food and that it's good stuff! Once he realized it was food, it was gone quickly, of course. They came with our order from Avian Fashions, they put in a little note saying Trick or Treat with some Nutriberries :) His feathers are coming in nicely, I think we're nearing the end of his first molt and he's getting very fluffy!
It's been getting chillier out, which means Nico spends more time inside… and he's not happy about it. We're kind of running out of activities to do at home and I'm afraid he's getting bored. Our halloween costume was fun to put together though, pictures to follow!

-M
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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cvTBQjV.jpg


Pirate costume… Unfortunately the hat didn't fit my head so it's kind of hard to tell, haha
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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11/2/18 - Today's favorite toy - Mommy's hair :mad:
Mommy slept in too much today so I decides I'll wake her up with screeches which I knows she loves. I watched her play guitar from my playground and then screamed my head off when she left me to go to class. When Mommy came home she said she had a headache and laid down for nap time but I got bored, which means more screeches! I thanks her for her attention by chewing on her hair and chewing on the carpet. I likes her hair so much that she always tells me, "My eyes are down here!"
-Nico
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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11/6-7/18 - Today's favorite toy: a toy my mother bought him, with strings, popsicle sticks, and a rattan ball.
Guess who had a nasty bout of food poisoning and went to the ER at 3 am today? Yup, me. I could barely move, eat, or sleep for 13 hours at that point, and Nico spent the entire day in his cage and I'm feeling guilty. He's out right now and hanging out in my laundry hamper but I don't have much energy at the moment so I'm not being too entertaining, sorry bud…
-M
 

Sunnyclover

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Jan 11, 2017
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Sun Conure - Ollie- Hatched 08/18/16*

Nanday Conure -Finley- Hatched 10/07/17*

Turquoise Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure -Paris- Hatched 03/03/18*

Black Capped Conure -North- Hatched 10/10/18
I'm sorry to hear that! I have a week stomach and have been to the ER about 4 times this year for food poisoning so I feel your pain. Also, I get mild bouts of it here and there but I don't go to the ER. If there is ANY cross contamination I get sick so yeah...
Anyways, hope you're drinking your fluids and taking it easy. Nico understands, birdies are smart...don't worry.
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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11/8/18 - Today's Favorite Toy: rattan ball (in his favorite color, white). It is being torn apart as we speak (I type).
Got a little surprise yesterday - I thought Nico's first molt was over, but now he's got a bunch more new pin feathers! Looks like his body's getting fluffier to get ready for the Bellingham winter. Poor boy is itchy but sensitive, he wants to be pet and groomed but the slightest touch can hurt him :( I've noticed he's using more of his "destroy" or "forage/preen" type toys than usual since starting to molt, perhaps he's stressed because he itches? Usually his toy preferences are more towards toys that are action-based, like swings and ladders, and of course, the ceiling of his cage.
 
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sweetpeamusic

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Nico - male Turquoise GCC
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11/12/18 - Today's favorite toy: A rabbit toy we got from the local pet store recently.
Yesterday my boyfriend (of 4 years now!), Ty, came to see us and we went to ABCrepes downtown. Nico likes the place because he can get free strawberries and the people who work there always think he's super cute. When I left Nico alone with Ty I heard Ty say "Nico, I am your father". LOLed in the bathroom, they have such a silly relationship. Nico likes to bob his head and chirp at him.
Nico's been a monster for scritches the past few days. He's constantly begging for them, even wanting me to pet him through the bars of his cage (which usually would get me a chomp, he's kinda territorial about his cage). I think his new feathers are probably super itchy and he wants some relief! He also gets a shower every couple of days, and a grooming session for his head and neck around twice a week. Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable?
 
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