We still don't have the DNA results back from the vet's office yet. It's been about a month now. I've called weekly and the answer I get is the same - we don't have the results back, but there is a note here to call you as soon as we do. I'm losing my patience with it because it costs me less than $18 to get it done at work, and the vet charges almost $100 for it. I figured it was easier to get it done while I was Chichi was having the tip of the toe amputated.
Chichi is very different from Freya. She was very calm and laid back and only demanding when she wanted to be fed. Chichi calls out all day long and it wears on me. We very quickly went from 50 - 60 ml per feeding to 120 or more and that helped. The crop empties at a pace where we are at 3 feedings a day, so I don't want to give 5 large feedings each day and take the chance of getting crop stasis. The behavior is so different that it makes me wonder if there is a cognitive issue going on from anesthesia at such a young age. We've outgrown the brooder so now we're in a small cage. We had the tray in the bottom of the cage, above the grate, and we lined it with towels and baby blankets. Yesterday when we were down on the floor I notice one of the legs was sticking out a little to the side. In order to avoid splayed legs, we put the tray back under the grate and removed the towels so Chichi could learn to stand better and start using those toes the right way. I moved Freya from the brooder to a cage at 9 weeks because she was climbing out of it. Chichi is right around 8 weeks so I don't think we're too early. I just hope I'm not rushing things if the development is going at a slower pace.
I had to reign myself in yesterday because there is a green wing at the store that has decided he likes me. I've known him for the last year and a half or so and he's never let me interact with him. He belonged to a relative of one of the employees. Unfortunately, she is facing serious health problems and decided to give this guy up. As I understand his history, he was returned to the store 3 times before he was a year old. I've never known him to be a bad bird, he just didn't care for me. It happens. There is a woman who works there that he adores. He rolls over in her arms, hangs upside down from her hand, and sticks his head down the front of his shirt. If I get too close to her, he lunges at me. I've always given him space because of it. This past Friday he fell off of his tree when one of the other birds frightened him. I went to pick him up from the floor and I guess he decided I wasn't so bad after all. He was very friendly to me the rest of the day. When I got to work the next day he decided I was his new best friend. He plays rough but I quickly established boundaries with him and it wasn't a problem again. He got up on my shoulder and then shoved his head down the front of my shirt. He hangs upside down from my hand and just acts silly. He's blossomed into a big silly boy for me. I'm tempted to bring him home as a pet, but I won't. I just can't have them all.
Here is Mr J hanging from my hand while I swing him back and forth.
