Kiwi, Cages, and Kitties.

We picked up Kiwi yesterday. She is a very FUNNY bird. She's a snuggler and a biter LOL she is currently asleep under my chin while I type this blog entry with bloody fingers.

She does NOT want to step down. Ever. She wants to live on me, so she has been. This is the first bird I've ever had that flat out dislikes my husband and prefers me. This is also the first bird that I've had that is very nervous and defensive. I spent a lot of time last night watching youtube with her about body language.

Here's a fabulous presentation on psittacine body language. It's very basic, I knew a lot of it, but some of it was new and I found it quite helpful!



Heres a video quickie :) (its processing at the moment LOL)

So I'm using a perch to remove her from me in a painless way. Her cage is on the way as the one I was going to buy sold before I got home from "work" yesterday (quotations because I work somewhere that I love and take my kiddo with me, so its more like a field trip I get paid for LOL) so she is just living out with us and sleeps in a big pet carrier in our room at night. I can tell she is going to be a "don't cage me!" sort of a bird and I'm hoping to find a nice play stand for her at the bird mart.

The cats are adjusting. They've gotten good about Basil being in the window all the time and leave him well enough alone. They stalked Basil when she first got here but when she screamed at them they scattered. The cages will be in the living room during the day while kiddo and I are out there, and will be in the bird room at night so that everyone is safe. I'm more concerned about one of the cats losing a toe than I am about one of the birds. We're getting the HQ flight cage which has budgie/cockatiel bar spacing. Simon is used to us having birds, and while he likes to watch them, he has been bitten and knows better than to pester. Once in a while he would perch himself on top of Cookie's cage (same cage as what we're ordering for Kiwi and him, we're getting two) and sleep there. Cookie didn't seem to mind, but I'm sure at one point or another he got curious and took a chomp of his tail or toes.

The two kittens (I guess I can't call them kittens anymore can I? They're THREE this year my god) weren't allowed in the bird room seeing as they are not declawed on the front and they are very interested in this whole bird business. I doubt they can get into too much trouble with the bar spacing but I'm a worrier so I think we are going to find some wire mesh and make a sort of "cage cover" to put over the cages so that if (heaven forbid) I should have to pee, I can leave the room without worrying about animals losing toes.

...or babies losing fingers.. seed guards are pretty easy to make myself. I can make them fairly toddler proof, he's short and the stands to these cages are tall and the birds seem to want to stay at the top anyway. So much to think about.

The bird room is also going to double as a kitty hangout for when the birds are having their "out" time. It should work out.

Whew I'm rambling today arent I!