Petey Blog

I have a small confession to make: I am not who the blog says I am. I created this blog just for fun a little after my roommate got Petey. I write and take the photos and post them under his name. In December he moved across the country for training, and he couldn't bring Petey along with him. The options were for Petey to stay with me or find him a new home. No wanting Petey to end up with strangers, he stayed with me. But in May I was about to start a lot of moving around myself, so I couldn't take care of him properly for a few months. My roommate had gotten a house where he was, and I was going to be on that side of the country for my first trip. It was a punishing 1am flight across the country. I was so filled with anxiety that he was going to scream that I nearly got an ulcer, but he never made a single squawk except when the TSA guy took him. All of the security people were giving him so much attention, commenting on his unusual colors, nobody seemed to care if he had a certificate of health or anything. Anyways, this photo of him was taken the morning I left. It won't be the last post as I plan on visiting, but hopefully this will explain the delays.

Comments:
Ann-Marie : Hi there, I love your bird! I had a couple questions if you don't mind. Do you occasionally go out of town on weekends and is he ok on his own with enough food/water for the two days? Also, how much time a day are you able to spend with him? I work during the day and might have other activities after, but would be able to devote a couple hours at least on weekdays to a conure (thinking about getting green-cheek). Just wanted your thoughts, thanks so much!
A-M : Hi, I love your bird! I had a couple questions if you don't mind. Do you occasionally go away for the weekend and is he ok with enough food/water? And how much time are you able to spend with him during the day? I am thinking about getting a green-cheek and work full time and have some after work activities, but would be able to devote a couple of hours a weekday at least...Thanks so much!
A-M : sorry- thought the first didn't go through :)
Stewie the Sun Conure : When are we going to get more updates on Petey??
Amy : Hi Petey, I love your blog! I run a bird related blog too, about caique parrots. I was wondering if you would be interested in trading links? Drop me a line if you are!
Fabe : We have a Sun Conure named Sunny, not sure if it's a male or female, but for argument's sake we'll say female...because she keeps trying to feed me! She loves her baths, and tends to get right cranky if she doesn't get one EACH day! There was a time where we went for 2 days without giving her one, and you guessed it...she used her water bowl. We came home to water all over our new leather couch. The cage has sinced been moved, just in case! haha
Meg : hey, ur blog is pretty cool, u hav some awsome pix of ur roommates conure. in response to the person who is thinking about getting a green-cheek, i think it is probably not a good idea if the only time you will have for it is on the weekend. all conures are very social and my green-cheek screams if i dont get him out at least twice a day. on top of this you need to think about the time you need to clean the cage as they need quite a large cage for all their toys. maybe you should look into something that needs a bit less attention like a cockatiel.

Here is the damage after about a month. We will subtract off the time Petey was away from it and at a friend's house. You can see that he is cheating now, trying to kill the toy by going for its head.

Comments:
Paul : Neato!
otilius : wow, Petey! you really tear **** up!
Sue : Gorgeous bird! We have two budgies at home, and despite their size they can get into a lot of mischief!
Jacinta : Your bird is identical to mine! I've seen heaps of sun conures but usually there is a difference somewhere. His feathers and colours are exactly the same as mine. His name is Caesar. You've got some fantastic pictures here, sun conures are so photogenic.

The last palm leaf toy was obviously too small, even though it lasted pretty long, but we had to step it up a notch with the Spiked Pinata by Planet Pleasures, a large one to be exact. After seeing the enjoyment that Petey got out of the little Octopus Pinata, I decided that this would please him even more. It might look big for small bird like a Conure, but he is determined to destroy this thing. Maybe he will stop chewing on my sweatshirt's zipper, oh wait, he broke that zipper already.

Comments:
blueyes : Holy crap that's big. I guess it might take him 3 weeks to destroy this one.
YummY! : Nifty. And, it appears that birds and rats go through toys equally quickly.
Beth : Awww seeing Petey makes me miss my rats even more! I think I spent more money on those two critters than I have on anyone or any animal in my life- I became resourceful, though. They loved to rip apart maxi-pads and tampons.
Albert : Write any question to my mail

As you can see to the right of Petey, there is virtually nothing left of the Octopus. At first it seemed like it would be destroyed in minutes. But after Petey made it through the initial out layer, it was discovered that it was solid, tightly wrapped palm leafs. After much work he had shredded the upper segment completely and his attention turned to the tentacles, which kept him busy even longer. Overall it has entertained him for about two weeks.

Comments:
Tracey : I only just discovered the world of Petey...so cute. I have an Alexandrine Parrot who seems to be a lot crankier than Petey...
Planet Pleasures : I recently discovered your blog on a search of our company name, and I must say how thrilled we are to see your bird enjoying our toys! They are designed for birds, not for their owners, and are made from resources from their natural jungle habitat (and some safe dyes of course), with no plastic, paper, metal or glue. Birds love to pick and destroy, and our toys are constructed with that challenge in mind. They will eventually defeat the toy, but it will take a while, and it will be the most fun and greatest achievement for their self esteem. And to answer your question about who gets paid ,we are a Fair Trade Cooperative and we provide a village in the Philippines with a steady income and a very comfortable lifestyle. Our owner travels to the village two or three times a year to reward their work and explore new concepts and opportunities. They love him and he respects them all. Planet Pleasures is a win/win company. The villagers are compensated directly with no middle men, so they are taken care of and work hard to show their appreciation. And the birds get the end result; solid toys that are designed to be destroyed! Thanks for sharing these photos! Any chance we could borrow them for our own purposes?

Petey likes to ruffle his feathers after he takes a shower.

Comments:
Aidana : I love the petey blog... my favorite "Petey from a different angle"I also wanted to let you know I've added your link to the two blogs below.Pop in if you get some time, ok hun?AidanaMY HORSE BLOG:http://www.blogcharm.com/ShuvaniStablesAllNaturalHorseAndLivestockRemedyAndProductBlog/MY EXOTIC ANIMALS BLOG:http://www.blogcharm.com/shuvanimals/
Tricia : Petey so cute! I love his colours and all the wonderful pics of him you put up. :)
L : SO cute! I cannot handle all this CUTENESS!!!
blueyes : Will Petey be enjoying some of the warm weather after one of his showers soon?

Petey often exercises his wings inside his cage. It is very important to have a cage large enough that allows birds to fully extend their wings for exercise. Clipped birds should flap their wings rigorously at least a few times per day in order to maintain their muscles properly. Improperly clipped or weak wings can cause the bird serious injury or death should they fall. The wings should be clipped evenly or the bird will be out of balance. Too aggressive of a clipping will cause the bird to drop like a rock. Whether or not to clip your bird's wings is highly dependent on the environment they live in.

Comments:
Gidget : I had a sun conure. They are great birds, loud, but sweet

Petey has found one more food that he will get excited for, Lafeber Tropical Fruit Nutri-Berries. The bag explains it can be used as a complete diet for your bird, but Petey has just been eating them in addition to his regular diet. He not only likes the papaya, pineapple, mango and bananas in the food, but he really seems to like the berry shape. At first all he was interested in was breaking them apart; however, he quickly he realized what he was dropping. The description says the shape minimizes wasted food, and claims that 96% of it is eaten. Maybe it just takes some practice because Petey does drop quite a bit of it as he breaks it apart. He has gotten noticeably better at eating them in the past week though.

Comments:
Jade : Petey looks like a Sun Conure...is he? I had one a long time ago. Best pet I've ever had! I'm trying to talk current hubby into getting me another one (the last one died a horrible death and it's taken me 10 years to get over it!)! First time here, I am sure you can tell! Good luck in the battle! :-) I'm off to explore more! I adore Petey!
Carina : Just wanted to say, that Petey is soooo cute!! I have a couple of red-rumped parakeets, but they are afraid of hands and rather shy at all, but also cute. :-)
stewie bird : I think the 96% eaten thing is a marketing ploy. Stewie drops at least a third of his NutriBerries (probably because he knows there's tons more where those came from. spoiled little bird)

Petey likes to both take baths in his water bowl and go in the shower. In this photo you can also see Petey's new flight feathers are growing in.

Comments:
blueyes : At least Petey WANTS to take a bath, I had to fight tooth and nails to get my dogs a bath this weekend
otilius : nice abstract shot. go, Petey!
Beth : After Petey is finished with his bathing, does he put on boxers, or, briefs?
Johnnylou : We just brought hom a Green Cheek Conure! Absonlutely love him!!! What a smart little guy. How long have you had you beauiful bird. How do you dry your bird after he takes a bath.
rickeybird : Great blog. Parrot blogs are the thing of the future, don't ya think? :) Best wishes!
rickeybird : Great site. Parrot blogs are the thing of the future, don't ya think?

Petey likes to protect the beer in the house, he sits, waits and watches to make sure nobody mooches off our beer. He takes his job personally, but usually he squawks before he bites. His bites are similar to an American Staffordshire terrier (pit bull) bite, he locks on with his beak and won't let go. Just kidding, Petey is a very gentle and sensitive bird, and he will share his beer with other people too. It has been almost four and half months since his wings were last clipped, but he still sinks pretty fast when he tries to fly. It doesn't even look like there are any flight feathers that are big enough to clip yet.

Comments:
kathryn : what a cool bird.
blueyes : Petey rules!! ;)

Previously we had no means to quickly give Petey positive reinforcement. He already is a pretty well trained bird; he steps up on anyone's finger just about every time except in the evenings. But we would like to see if he can do more advanced activities. He loves banana chips, but he takes quite some time to finish them. To help with his training, we needed something that he would work to get, and could also finish eating it quickly. We found out that he goes crazy for dried papaya bits. At first he did not have much interest in them, but soon we found him climbing out of his open cage to get the bits left on top of his cage. The brand we used was made by Kaytee and named Healthy Toppings. We had experimented with another Kaytee treat, Yogurt Tropical Mix, but Petey has no interest in those yet. I would recommend that you don't give up too quickly when testing a treat with your bird. I have read that Conures and other parrots may benefit from seeing other birds or even humans eat a food before they have much interest in it.

Comments:
Charlotte : I love your parrot Petey! Is it a sun conure? I have a Meyer's Parrot who is ugly. xD

Some visitors have asked if Petey's wings are clipped. Yes his wings were clipped before he came home. Most people agree that clipping a bird's wings is necessary. It is noninvasive. When done right the bird should not be able to gain altitude, but also should not sink like a rock. If the wings are clipped incorrectly, the bird can injure itself if it falls from a height. Even birds with clipped wings can gain altitude if the winds are sufficient, therefore just because a bird's wings are clipped doesn't make it safe to take your bird outside. A leash or Feather Tether Bird Harness is highly recommended if you take your bird outside. If Petey will not use the Feather Tether, then clipping his wings will be mandatory. So far progressing with the harness has been slow. In the photo, Petey is playing chewing on the Cal Sea Yum Bird Toys I mentioned before. Lately he has begun to chew on the rubber, before he would just crunch up the calcium wafers.

Comments:
YummY! : Do you clip his wings yourself, or do you get a vet to do it?
The Creep : You blog about a stupid bird, how fucking pathetic.
Anji : What lovely photos. The information is interesting too.
jill : i don't think blogging about a bird is pathetic, especially if you've ever owned a parrot you would know how much they mean to their owners and how most of them have way more personality than some humans I know. Documenting parrot antics is quite funny. anyways it's better than your lame site. BTW petey is adorable. I have a 2 yr old girl named sunny, she is a crackup. I just love them.

Petey is now a year old, but he is still a baby. In the photo, Petey is working his beak on an 8 in 1 UltraCare(TM) Mineral Treat, hopefully it will help trim his beak. So far the calcium wafer toys seem to work best on his beak though. Also while at the store picked up a feather tether, or basically a leash, expect to see progress (or lack of) in the next couple posts.

Comments:
Mike : I hate peety.

Whenever Petey sees his mirror image, he barely takes notice of it and loses interest quickly. I've read that birds can become obsessive of their own mirror images if given a mirror toy in their cage. Some cases say that the birds will start to feed their mirror image, even groom it. Mirrors used to be a popular toy for birds, but new opinions are beginning to question its effect of the bird's social behavior. Either way, Petey seems quite content without a mirror and I would suggest avoiding mirrors if your bird is already social with you and other people. The photo with this post is of Petey perched on a food bowl above his cage, it was taken a while ago. He seems to prefer being up there less now, he likes being in his cage to eat or sleep, on his perch in the living room when people are in there, or being on people when he's awake.

Petey's favorite treat is definitely banana chips. Most people are surprised when they see Petey using his feet to hold his food. As you can see in the video he also tries to dip the chip in one of his water bowls, but it is empty. Usually he does not dip the banana chips, but he likes to dip certain colors of Zupreem Fruit Blend for Parrots and Conures in his water before eating them. I've noticed he dips the yellow and green ones the most. Sometimes I wonder how he came up with the idea to dip the pellets in his water bowl on the other side of the cage.

Comments:
Aden : Petey is so very cute, I really love birds. I have had quite a few in my life.
Tickles_Tapeworm : Juella likes to dip her pellets in the water too. I just don't understand why she doesn't dunk them longer. :)