Petey Blog

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?

It was overpriced, especially for something that a bird will shred up in a single fit of rage, but I read (sounds a bit sketchy though without any details, I want numbers, how much do they villagers get of my money?) the back of the tag: "Planet Pleasures takes pride in offering you a unique line of products that are all natural and earth friendly, utilizing only renewable and recycled materials. Handmade by villagers who rely on their handicraft skills to survive. Be good to the environment & your bird, choose Planet Pleasure toys!!"

Comments:
Keri : Cool bird! I'd love to get me one!
lostcheerio : Gosh, with a name like "Planet Pleasure" it's got to be good. Right? Hehehe. ;D
carrie : cool picture
Sandy : This photo is great--all that color is terrific! Fun bird.

Petey is content sitting on most people's shoulders, but for a select few he is not satisfied until he burrows down your shirt. This can be a good thing. For example, if you are on the phone, most of the time he is fairly quiet when he is inside shirts. If you have ever had a Sun Conure near you, you know how hard it can be to conduct a phone conversation when the bird wants your attention. For the people who haven't had the pleasure, between the noise he makes when he is not on your shoulder trying to get on your shoulder and attacking the phone randomly when he gets on your shoulder, it makes it virtually impossible. Getting back on topic, sometimes he even peacefully sleeps on your belly for extended periods. But there is an ugly side to bird shirt burrowing, one or two of the follow may occur if you are only wearing one layer. If you are ticklish, expect the bird to exploit that and use his beak to tickle you if he is in a calm but not sleepy mood. Or if if the bird is full of energy expect to have scratches from his claws as he explores, and gets stuck in your sleeves. One solution to the problem is to wear at least two layers and only let the bird in between the layers.

Comments:
blueyes : Never seen a bird do that but I guess he's gotta really like the person to do it.
Carwyn : Love this picture!
moirana : our sun conure girl bella does the same thing.... she spends hours sitting in the shirt enjoying the world...great pics of petey... have to say, i LOVE the flight pic...
Bruce -- Harper Blue : Actually, I can think of a third, rather alimentary problem....
sweet_wolf : I have a Fallow green conure that loves to burrow in clothing, she will fall asleep when she is that close to myself and her papa
katrina : can we please have more petey???
Christine : That is funny my sun Conure loves to climb in my sweatshirts when I am holding her. When I hold her she leans back against my chest or shoulder. she does not like to sit on my finger.

Here is a overview photo of Petey's cage. He used to like being on top of it quite a bit, but now he likes to be on people more. His cage is quite large for a parrot of his size. Petey likes to pose for the camera, he is trying to be funny for April Fool's Day.

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