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.