Time Flies Like Rex

I can't believe it's October!

Things have been crazy here, but in the best sense of the word. Life has been pretty great- Rex is healthy and happy. He's sitting on my arm right now trying to chew off the button on my sleeve. He's got a nice little project going for him.

I'm soaking up his affection right now... We'll be heading to Europe for 10 days starting next Friday. I know I'm going to miss my little nugget like crazy. As much as his incessant chirping and constant trouble making irritates me at times, he's such a clown and a delight... I'm getting a little teary eyed thinking about it. It's a shame he doesn't have his passport. I think he'd quite like to see the Eiffel Tower. :)

Nugget Updates

The nugget and I have been doing pretty well. We've added a couple new words to our vocabulary ("birdie, birdie, birdie" & "pretty bird") and some random sounds. You know the scroll wheel on the mouse? He's got that down, too.

We went up to Mt. Rainier this weekend and boarded him at our vets to get a feel for it. We are thinking about heading to Europe this October so we wanted to see how he'd handle it. He was a bit exhausted and very excited to see us, but he was no worse for wear.

When I went to pick him up yesterday, I noticed they had a book in the waiting area that looked pretty interesting - The Healthy Bird Cookbook. I had a brief chance to flip through it, and I have to say I was really impressed. The recipes looked great- I think that might be the next Rex related purchase.

The Art of Mimicry

Rex is becoming the master of mimicking sounds. I'm really surprised, I didn't expect him to start being such a chatterbox, especially being so young.

Things Rex is capable of repeating:

Kissy Sounds
Maniacal Laughter
"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie"
The Belch

It seems like every week there's something new that he's repeating. He never ceases to surprise us.

I think getting Rex has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. He's a phenomenal bird- I can't believe how much personality is packed into such a tiny being.

Time to work on my manners.

I have never professed to be very lady-like. In fact, I think it's my tomboy attitude mixed with the love of good tea that originally charmed my husband.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that on Friday, when I happened to belch perhaps a bit too obnoxiously, that my little bird decided to chime in with his own resounding "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaak!"

My husband about died from laughter. And I almost died from shame.

Results

Four vet visits.
+
Three blood draws.
+
Four weeks of medication.
+
Four different medicines
_______________________

23g of healthy bird

I don't mean to brag, but...

...Rex has gorgeous feathers.

Rex also has another appointment with the vet. I still don't think he's doing quite right. More blood work and another cytology at 5pm.

On the Subject of Toys

I'm truly amazed by how much information is in Kris Porter's books (from parrotenrichment.com) . I've read through The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book about three times now, and I'm still just in awe with how much information is in them. If you haven't read them, it's worth taking the time to scan them. They're free, available immediately online, and very informative. Plus full of great pictures of birds playing.

The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book
The Parrot Enrichment Activity Version II

The books cover many, many techniques to keep our birdies mentally engaged and active- and a good majority of the toys are inexpensive or DIY.

I love the fact that good toys for our feathered friends are relatively easy to make. And if the toys aren't perfect, it really doesn't matter. It's the act of destroying that Rex loves, not aesthetics.

One of Rex's all time favorite toys is the Parrot Piñata.

Dr. Foster & Smith

It's bright, makes an awesome rustling sound (it flails when he thrashes it around) and he LOVES to shred it. It's closer to the bottom of his cage, so he'll grab the top part with his beak, hold that part with his toes, then beak-grab further down until he has the whole toy at a right angle to the cage walls. I'm pleased that his favorite toy is one of the least expensive... at $1.69, I won't go into debt keeping the nugget away from boredom.

Sounds of Happiness

FYI, the sweet sounds of Rex munching on an apple (and the requisite apple flinging) make me happy. I don't even mind picking up the little pieces that have been flung outside of the cage.

Rings of Fury

With the warmer weather and still being mid-molt, Rex seems to have a bit more sass and verve. And we're still medicating him. Poor little guy.

Two things that have worked thus far:

1. Shredding/Foraging Toys: Food wrapped in unbleached coffee filters- I call these birdie dim sum- work wonders for a squawking bird.
   
2. Something to Boss Around: In Rex's case, those brightly colored ring toys that have a bell on the end work perfectly. He slams that bell around like he's Mike Tyson. These are his Rings of Fury. He gets a lot of aggression out on those rings.
   

Rex: Slayer of the Thumb

Rex bit the husband today. And not in the "Oh hi, let me climb on you" kind of bite. It was full on, not instigated, he's-not-gonna-let-go bite. The kind that draws blood. And draw blood it did.

I medicate Rex first thing in the morning- he gets his medicine, has an equal dose of scritches, gets placed in the shuttle for watching Humans-Make-Breakfast time. While medication isn't fun, he tolerates it, perhaps knowing that there's something awesome that happens next. The husband has night shift- he has to take an angry (and often determined and cranky bird) out of his cage, medicate him, then place him back. No fun. Only hassle.

It's been escalating, too. I'm kicking myself for not noticing that Rex's attitude towards the husband has been souring quickly. It looks like I'm going to have to be the bad sheriff in town for a little while, at least until we finish our antibiotics. The other sheriff will have to be the bringer of treats- hopefully his reputation can be improved.

Round Two: Fight!

Phew.

So the bird has been under the weather. I first noticed it June 3rd- and I took him into the vet's the same day. Nothing serious, just a nasal sounding chirp and his droppings looked off.

Everything looked fine, but we insisted on having a blood test anyway. Turns out he had a small bacterial infection and a gastric yeast infection. We tried a broad spectrum antibiotic.

I thought he was fine- he was chipper, with a good appetite and a sassy attitude. We followed a 10 day, 2x a day course. When it was done we brought him back in and he still had both infections- no worse than when he came in... but he clearly had them still.

So we opted to send out a culture to another lab to determine what exactly we're dealing with.. picked another antibiotic and started him on it.

I got the lab results yesterday. He had THREE different types of bacteria- and thankfully we're already on the right spectrum of meds. Only 8 more days of administering it, then another doctor's visit. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

But yay for catching it early! And yay for having an avian vet already picked out! It is such a relief knowing that we're on the right road to recovery.

The Green Houdini

Rex is not a single cage type of bird. He has four cages. He has a large cage by the dining area (complete with a birdie jungle gym). He has another large cage in the bedroom. He has a tiny travel cage for the vets. And he has a small cage I like to call the "shuttle." I'm super paranoid about him being stepped on or squashed, so if he's not my 100% focus, his butt is in a cage.

Rex's shuttle is by far his favorite cage. It is the cage that I put him in when the humans do Dangerous Things (i.e. wash dishes, cook dinner, clean house, etc). He understands that the shuttle means entertainment - he knows our routine.

This shuttle is not really well made. It's obvious that it's meant as a travel cage, and it's much too small to be a permanent home for any type of animal. And as such, I should have realized that the doors are light enough to be popped open by a inquisitive bird.

The other day the husband was washing dishes when suddenly Rex escaped out of the cage and dive bombed him. He instinctively grabbed him and put him back, not realizing that he still had soap on his hands. I took Rex into the bathroom and washed him down to make sure he was residue free before leaving him to his own devices.

Now we've got the shuttle on lock down- zip ties on the easy-to-open doors. While effective, these haven't stopped our optimistic little green Houdini from trying.



As I type this, the little munchkin is chowing down and singing. It must be a tough life being so damn cute.

Parrotlet or Seagull?

The husband and I are heavy salmon eaters. We will devour any sea-based food. If it comes in a shell, it's delicious. If it has fins, even more so! And being a tiny part S'klallam and Makah Indian, I use these meals to reflect on that part of my ancestry and to remember my late father.

Rex participates in our meals. We eat pretty healthfully, only whole grains, very few processed carbohydrates, a lot of lean proteins and a lot of veggies and fruit. This means that Rex often gets to share in our meals. One day, we were eating our salmon and he started freaking out- apparently the spinach I gave him was no where near as interesting. Salmon wasn't something that I thought about sharing, to be honest. I did some research on the forum and found out that small amounts of salmon are okay- occasionally- and as I don't spice it at all (no need to ruin a perfect food) I gave him a small flake.

And things haven't ever been the same. Now we have to be covert-salmon eaters. We have to sneak it. If he sees it, he'll screech and screech. And when he gets a piece, he's got a particular chirp that goes with it- it almost sounds like he's saying "el capitan" while he's chowing down.

I think he's trying to tell me a couple of things.

• Rex is secretly a seagull.
• Salmon is awesome.
• His new nickname should be "El capitán de las gaviotas" - Captain of the Seagulls.
  

The Boy has Taste.

I'm always surprised by how discriminating a little bird can be. These are the first 5 Rules of Rex.

1. Red bell peppers are superior to green bell peppers.
2. Strawberry flavored medicine = good. Piña colada flavored medicine = evil.
3. Never wake up before 10:30am.
4. Being awake past 9pm is a good reason to be cranky.
   
5. The sound of a plastic bag in ANY form is a great excuse to sing loudly, puff up, and dance.

Diving Right In

The first, second, and third posts always seem a bit awkward, don't they?

Rex and I have a bit of a history, and there are many stories of his adorableness and stubborness that I wish to share. However, I could spend months of time trying to catch up, and miss posting all those awesome moments that happen day-to-day with him.

So, I'm diving right in. If you've followed me at all on talkparrotlets.com (best forum ever, nicest people you'll ever meet!), you kind of know all of the good stuff at this point.

My goals for this blog? To share at least a tiny part of the immense joy Rex gives me- and to share what I've discovered and learned in the last 6 months. Expect some prose, lots of pictures, occasional videos... If I can use it document his joie de vivre, it'll be posted here!

Haiku of Introduction.

He is a rascal.
Green and blue feathers galore.
Rex is his fierce name.