Monday February 12, 2007

The Parrot Pinata Octopus deserves more credit

Petey the Sun Conure Parrot Eating
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?

Tuesday March 28, 2006

Needed to find a treat

Petey the Sun Conure eating papaya

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

Thursday March 02, 2006

Petey's first birthday

Petey the Sun Conure working his beak on a mineral treat

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.

Thursday February 23, 2006

Bird Bath

Petey the Sun Conure Spreading his wings after a bath

Petey enjoys water quite a bit, if he isn't given an opportunity to take a formal bath, he just hops in one of his water bowls. More water ends up outside his cage than on him though. Currently, I use Ultra Care Bird Bath Spray from Eight in One on him and it seems to work pretty well, definitely better than water alone.


Comments:
Alejandro : Did you cut his wings? :?
mike : petey is probably the coolest bird ever, if they dont like it talk to chas he will want to box them
anlempert : awww such a cutie pie