"Where can I nest?!"

[fluffypoptarts]

My girl has been "nest-hunting" like crazy this weekend! I mean, trying to go up my sleeve, in my shirt, darting under the folded duvet on the bed, trying to burrow under my hand, pillow, neck - you name it, she's trying to make it work as a nest. She dove into my hair last night and couldn't even be seen! She finally wore herself out this morning and ended up dozing sort of in the crook of my arm. Crazy thing! I, of course, am the evil thwarter of nesting, which can be a tiring job, too!

 

[fluffypoptarts]

The little Monster Truffle has been especially nippy lately! She flew over to me last night and was all sweet and cuddly for maybe 15 seconds. As soon as I turned my attention back to what I was doing (papering HER tray), she leaned over and pinched me!! Insolence (which she specializes in, but still)!! She has managed to pinch me once or twice every day the last few days!

Yes, I realized after the fact that my behavior bet the requirements for Snerky to punish me. But I didn't even get a second!

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Blue PFLB, and her mate, Harley, have been trying to hatch their fake eggs for four months. I learned recently that PFLBs can breed all year round if food is plentiful...

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Blue PFLB, and her mate, Harley, have been trying to hatch their fake eggs for four months. I learned recently that PFLBs can breed all year round if food is plentiful...

Aww...you have to give them credit for their determination! Though that can seriously be a bad thing, especially with lovebirds. My mom has a female lovebird who lays clutch after clutch and hardly leaves the bottom of the cage. I've told her about the implant that's available, but she doesn't want to spend the money. Tempted to offer to pay for it and take her girl down to the vet myself (since my mother would never drive an hour to the vet). I can't recall if she has tried fake eggs or not.

I knew they could pretty much breed at any time if there was enough food (quite the little opportunists, lol), but I wasn't sure if their hormone levels were always surging or if it really just depended. I keep things Snerky could use as nesting material away from her, keep her out of nesting-type places, let her have more dark hours, don't allow her to mingle with or see the boys, etc. She has never laid any eggs and I'm hoping to keep it that way. I think this is the most hormonal I've seen her, though I think she got nippy/moody around this time last year, too. She is awesome, though.

 

[JAM]

Our lovies are behaving so far, they've shown signs of nesting of which we have managed to keep at bay and so far no eggs but we aren't 100% what sex ours are. We think Peachy is female and Fluffy is male (seen Fluffy try to mount Peachy but Peachy protests so still none the wiser!).
However we are getting some fake eggs to keep on hand just in case.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Our lovies are behaving so far, they've shown signs of nesting of which we have managed to keep at bay and so far no eggs but we aren't 100% what sex ours are. We think Peachy is female and Fluffy is male (seen Fluffy try to mount Peachy but Peachy protests so still none the wiser!).
However we are getting some fake eggs to keep on hand just in case.

How old are yours? Lol, Peachy is having none of that!! I have two boys who will do the "mount me" posturing at me when they're feeling frisky! Funny, confused little guys. Twink is the worst! Sometimes I just open the door to his cage and he leans down and spreads his wings!

 

[pinkdagger]

Haha, how cute! Fortunately my three little ladies haven't been seeking out nesting areas, but they've been generating their own in their cages! Only Tweety will posture to me, usually when I open her cage, but also whenever I put my hand in front of her asking for a step up. They're shredding up a storm though - I brought home the ends of the rolls for receipt papers from work (where they'd just be discarded anyway) and hung one in each bird's cage, and of course, none have taken any interest in it.

They haven't given me eggs in years, but they're avid chewers all year round. Fingers crossed this will be another eggless year!

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Haha, how cute! Fortunately my three little ladies haven't been seeking out nesting areas, but they've been generating their own in their cages! Only Tweety will posture to me, usually when I open her cage, but also whenever I put my hand in front of her asking for a step up. They're shredding up a storm though - I brought home the ends of the rolls for receipt papers from work (where they'd just be discarded anyway) and hung one in each bird's cage, and of course, none have taken any interest in it.

They haven't given me eggs in years, but they're avid chewers all year round. Fingers crossed this will be another eggless year!

The pictures you shared of yours were so cute! You take such great care of them. I'm hoping for another eggless year for you and your girls!

Interestingly enough, Snerky hasn't postured at me yet. She does love to chew and destroy things, though. She hangs upside down like a bat from her star toy (rawhide and wood) and tears it up...it needs to be replaced as it's a sad shadow of its former glory, lol.

I'm sure she'd build a fabulous nest if I gave her anything to use! I caught her with a bit of millet tucked into her tail feathers the other day. I worry it would both encourage egg-laying and increase territorial instincts if I let her build. As it is, I can stick my hand into her cage, touch her toys, pet her head, and take bowls in and out and she rarely shows any aggression. (There's one bell toy that I hold up and shake at her, and when I offer it to her, she'll stick her face into the bottom of the bell and click a few times. )

 

[pinkdagger]

Aww, thanks!

Such is life with birds though, eh? Everything ends up as a shadow of its former glory. I've been on the lookout for new and different toys to replace the older ones that are falling apart but it's come to a point where I look at a bunch and just say "got it, got it, didn't like it, fell apart too fast, got it, too expensive, got it..."

Even millet as part of the nest! That's adorable. The upside is it sounds like even if she did get more territorial, she trusts you enough to assume you would be helping her in the process and choose not to lunge or bite you.

 

[JAM]

How old are yours? Lol, Peachy is having none of that!! I have two boys who will do the "mount me" posturing at me when they're feeling frisky! Funny, confused little guys. Twink is the worst! Sometimes I just open the door to his cage and he leans down and spreads his wings!

They are both around the 2 year mark

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Aww, thanks!

Such is life with birds though, eh? Everything ends up as a shadow of its former glory. I've been on the lookout for new and different toys to replace the older ones that are falling apart but it's come to a point where I look at a bunch and just say "got it, got it, didn't like it, fell apart too fast, got it, too expensive, got it..."

Even millet as part of the nest! That's adorable. The upside is it sounds like even if she did get more territorial, she trusts you enough to assume you would be helping her in the process and choose not to lunge or bite you.

Isn't that the truth! Oh, do you have any specific toy recommendations? I have a hard time finding good toys for her. They either look hazardous (I'm paranoid about little feet getting caught, strangling, etc) or could be used for nesting.

Yes, she's a very resourceful girl! I felt bad for her! "I'm sorry, honey, mama can't let you build a nest!" LOL, let's hope that would be her attitude! I wonder if it wouldn't be more like once she noticed I wasn't helping and being useful, she'd bite me to "encourage" me to see things her way and get to the helping part! She is surprisingly okay with me being in her space, though. I'm glad she trusts me so much. The first week I ever had the poor girl, I had to give her antibiotics with an oral syringe for...I think it was a week, though it might've been a bit longer. "Nice to meet you, you cute little popcorn fluff...now allow me to force this nasty medicine on you!" (The poor lovies always seem to be sick when I get them. I've only had two that came to me healthy.)

 

[pinkdagger]

Aww! Medicine sucks. The times I had two of my birds on Baytril, I had to "trick" them by putting a bit on some millet but they hate very juicy or wet things, so of course a liquid antibiotic is the last thing they want - sticky too. They learned quickly, but those were some trying two week periods. They wouldn't dare let me handle them - sheer unhappiness!

Hmm, the stuff I'm looking into getting now is mostly from this Amazon store, their small sized toys: Amazon.ca: Super Bird Creations: Pet Supplies

I have a few of their things already, but my pending cart has 8-10 more I'm on the fence about. I have pretty much all the size-appropriate plastic foraging toys there are (and some of the slightly-too-big-but-still-manageable ones) and those are by far the favourites because food! Other than that, soft woods, twine balls, and bells are my go-tos. My birds never try to use wood for nesting, just paper. And bells are the mortal enemy and best friend so it's always entertaining to see which way they feel like swinging at any particular moment.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Aww! Medicine sucks. The times I had two of my birds on Baytril, I had to "trick" them by putting a bit on some millet but they hate very juicy or wet things, so of course a liquid antibiotic is the last thing they want - sticky too. They learned quickly, but those were some trying two week periods. They wouldn't dare let me handle them - sheer unhappiness!

Hmm, the stuff I'm looking into getting now is mostly from this Amazon store, their small sized toys: Amazon.ca: Super Bird Creations: Pet Supplies

I have a few of their things already, but my pending cart has 8-10 more I'm on the fence about. I have pretty much all the size-appropriate plastic foraging toys there are (and some of the slightly-too-big-but-still-manageable ones) and those are by far the favourites because food! Other than that, soft woods, twine balls, and bells are my go-tos. My birds never try to use wood for nesting, just paper. And bells are the mortal enemy and best friend so it's always entertaining to see which way they feel like swinging at any particular moment.

You are telling me, both avian vets I have seen LOVE to give me liquid medication that I have to administer orally. Twinkie is the absolute WORST little patient and has learned all manner of ways to twist and lock his beak and move his head to defeat my attempts to medicate him (I have small hands, and trying to restrain a squirming bird in one hand while using the other to wield the oral syringe is difficult). Unfortunately, he seems a bit on the sickly side as every time some stressful event occurs (moving, for instance), he gets sick and I have to give him something. He seems to have a very weak immune system, which worries me to no end. If I can get them to give me something that's cherry-flavored, he doesn't fight as hard, but if it's banana...he DETESTS banana.

Snerky was rather mature about it and only gave me a hard time the first few days. After that, she took it willingly and I was so proud of her! Very lucky she decided right away that she liked me, though. I can't imagine what it would have been like otherwise!

Millet is a good way to do it, but it's hard to know if they get enough when it's on food. But no other choice if they do badly with being handled.

Thank you, I will take a look! My girl loves her bells, but she and her swing have a love-hate relationship.

 

[pinkdagger]

Poor Twinkie! That must be so frustrating. I had to do one or two drops at a time on millet, and it'd be wasted when it dripped onto my fingers or flung off. SO much got flung off! Neither of the birds were confirmed to be sick, but they were just given it to prevent infection and as a general precaution for relatively poor body condition.

When I moved out of my parents' place, two of my birds had been born into that house and lived there for all 11 of their years, one having never been in a car. After reading about Twinkie, I can't even explain how grateful I am that all three took the move (+2 hour drive) as well as they did.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

At least with the fake eggs, Blu has not layed any more eggs. I tried removing their nest box, but they just laid on the grate and became extremely aggressive to any bird that approached their cage. They are much happier and less aggressive with their box.

As far as toys, I buy anything made of wicker or similar materials and Blu dismantles the toys and takes the chewed results into the nest box. I have to clean out the nest box weekly or they will stuff so much nesting material in the box, they pop the top off of it. As an experiment, I gave Blu a huge (12 inches long by 4 inches wide) wicker horn of plenty stuffed with paper, treats and broom straw which was advertised as being for large birds; she destroyed it completely within a week. Another thing she loves is those cheap wicker or grapevine wreaths and baskets. I bring them home and rinse them with hot water three times, allowing them to dry completely between rinses. The hot water removes anything on the surface of the toys. Then I sit them around the birdroom, even pin them to the walls and Blu seeks them out and chews them up.

Yes, I know providing a box and giving her nest material only encourages her to brood the eggs, but as long as she is not producing eggs and both she and Harley are not losing weight or getting run down physically, I see no problem with letting them play house as much as they want. I figure it won't be until November before they stop brooding those fake eggs. By the way, none of the eggs Blu laid before I gave her the fake eggs were fertile. Apparently they are not having actual mating. Blu was a hand raised baby and I was surprised how well she bonded to Harley; but apparently sex is not part of the bond.

 

[Beanurita]

My , Pickles is 12weeks this last Monday......when do they first "go through the change"??

 

[fluffypoptarts]

They are both around the 2 year mark

Aww, so hopefully you have many years of their antics to look forward to.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Poor Twinkie! That must be so frustrating. I had to do one or two drops at a time on millet, and it'd be wasted when it dripped onto my fingers or flung off. SO much got flung off! Neither of the birds were confirmed to be sick, but they were just given it to prevent infection and as a general precaution for relatively poor body condition.

When I moved out of my parents' place, two of my birds had been born into that house and lived there for all 11 of their years, one having never been in a car. After reading about Twinkie, I can't even explain how grateful I am that all three took the move (+2 hour drive) as well as they did.

I love how they often give you only enough to give your birds in a perfect world situation, lol. Basically, you can have one real accident or flinging of medicine! I've had to have them send me extra before. My poor little guy ended up with medicine on his cheek or forehead sometimes because he wouldn't stay still. Then, the second I would get the syringe into his mouth, he would push it back out with his tongue! They're too clever for their own good sometimes! They learn fast, and adapt accordingly. It is extremely frustrating, and naturally I can't reason with the little fellow. Sometimes I use my stern tone, "Twinkie. Twinkie! Mama has to do this. Come on." And in return I get his insistent Twinkie-doesn't-like-this squeaks, and the desperate eyes. Which would make anyone feel guilty!

Oh, that's good that yours weren't actually sick and it was just a precaution, but still. Sounds like you know the frustration, too, though!

I'm so glad they handled such a big move so well! The girls seem to be tougher in general. When I took Snerky home, after only 5 minutes of being in a strange travel cage (before I even left the bird store), she was taking a bath in her water bowl and stuffing her face on the millet. I was totally amazed. I thought she'd be so anxious being taken home by a stranger. NOPE. And she generally loves to be in the car and does her best "singing" there. It probably helps that she knows that being in the car = extra attention later.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

At least with the fake eggs, Blu has not layed any more eggs. I tried removing their nest box, but they just laid on the grate and became extremely aggressive to any bird that approached their cage. They are much happier and less aggressive with their box.

As far as toys, I buy anything made of wicker or similar materials and Blu dismantles the toys and takes the chewed results into the nest box. I have to clean out the nest box weekly or they will stuff so much nesting material in the box, they pop the top off of it. As an experiment, I gave Blu a huge (12 inches long by 4 inches wide) wicker horn of plenty stuffed with paper, treats and broom straw which was advertised as being for large birds; she destroyed it completely within a week. Another thing she loves is those cheap wicker or grapevine wreaths and baskets. I bring them home and rinse them with hot water three times, allowing them to dry completely between rinses. The hot water removes anything on the surface of the toys. Then I sit them around the birdroom, even pin them to the walls and Blu seeks them out and chews them up.

Yes, I know providing a box and giving her nest material only encourages her to brood the eggs, but as long as she is not producing eggs and both she and Harley are not losing weight or getting run down physically, I see no problem with letting them play house as much as they want. I figure it won't be until November before they stop brooding those fake eggs. By the way, none of the eggs Blu laid before I gave her the fake eggs were fertile. Apparently they are not having actual mating. Blu was a hand raised baby and I was surprised how well she bonded to Harley; but apparently sex is not part of the bond.

Well, the nest box works for your girl and makes her happier, so I can see why you'd have it there and give her material. Plus, she's already laying, and will lay regardless of whether or not you provide those things. Mine is a little bit of a different case since she doesn't have a mate and isn't laying.

LOL, Blu must be in heaven having all the shredding material available! Plus the fun of getting to hunt and retrieve the material on her own!

They sound like such a sweet pair.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

My , Pickles is 12weeks this last Monday......when do they first "go through the change"??

Well, you have a while. I've read that they reach sexual maturity at 10-12 months. But what that means in behavior seems to vary from bird to bird. Some females start laying eggs, some don't for a while (or ever). Some are very territorial and aggressive, some aren't. Some are very determined to breed, some not so much. Pickles will be a surprise no matter what, lol!