• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

September 2016 Feathered Estates Highlight - Ankou

Status
Not open for further replies.

Macawnutz

Seriously Nutz!
Super Administrator
Vendor
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/21/11
Messages
32,902
Location
Wisconsin
Real Name
Sarah
September 2016 Feathered Estates Highlight
:starshower1::starshower1::starshower1:


I am very pleased to announce this month's showcased member Ankou!​



Bedroom Setup


1~ What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
One peach faced lovebird. :heart:
HappyCuddle.png

2~ Is your setup for a handicapped bird?
I'd say no, but she is a senior and does have some special needs at this point. Arthritis and a cataract in one eye, not too limiting but I do take it into account because it does effect what she is comfortable doing.

3~ Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
Know your bird. It's important to try and introduce new things but sometimes we can admit defeat and a bird will just not like or use something we really wish they did. If Peanut has mostly ignored something for over a decade, like any woods harder than yucca and balsa or perches outside her cage, I think it's safe to say she probably never will.
Also, DIY if you can. I make most of Peanut's toys and quite a few of the things I haven't made are just human objects she likes, like a spoon or something. Or a plastic cup...
Cuppybird.jpg
My favorite toy making day picture from a few years ago. Where's Peanut? :laugh:

4~ Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?

Because of Peanut's age and arthritis she strongly favors flat surfaces outside her cage, so most of her areas are on stationary furniture.
Toys are rotated out as they are destroyed or ignored but new ones are placed in the same spot. It is a distinct possibility she will go completely blind if she lives long enough at this point so I want her to be able to find her way around as easily as possible.
When she starts to explore a new area of my bedroom, if it's a place I don't mind her being anyway, I will add bird things to it for her to do, though it's pretty infrequent she wants to play new places.

5~ Where did you find your materials if you made it yourself or where did you purchase the setup and do you have favorite places to purchase safe toys and/or supplies that you find reliable?
I get the majority of the things I make Peanut's toys out of from Things for Wings, California Bird Nerds, and My Safe Bird Store.
All have reasonable prices and a great selection of things for tiny beaks. Finding them was really a godsend, since it's always been hard to find good bird toys in Alaska.

6~ Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
Aside from the flight cage itself, which is amazing, probably platform perches. A few years ago I way overbought and ended up with like 6 or 7 of them but they have been very useful as Peanut aged. She does pretty good with the rope perches too but when she wants to relax she can crawl over to one of the platforms.

7~ If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
Peanut really likes her ball pit. :laugh: It's just a tupperware full of beads but she crawls in there and pecks at them until she falls asleep. She also really likes balsa blocks strung through anything to form a sort of wooden sphere.
Failures are pretty much any time I would try to put pine or harder woods on stuff.
Favorite Toys.png
Her current two favorites. The one in the back is almost gone, she's already gotten off about half the threads and blocks.

8~ Did you incorporate into your setup any foraging toys and how did your bird(s) take to them and was age or inactivity a factor?
While it's nearly impossible to find premade foraging toys for small birds I've been making my own for years. It took Peanut a while to get the hang of it and even today her modus operandi is "maul until food appears" rather than any problem solving. :rolleyes:
Since she is alone while I am at work I try to give her as many activities as I can so she hopefully doesn't feel as bored or lonely.

9~ What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
For 14 of the 16 years I've had Peanut I've also had dogs and kept them separated. In the winter the bedroom she is in gets extremely cold if the door is closed, and year round the dogs would always come stand in the hall leading to her room if they needed something while I was spending time with Peanut so I've had to devise ways to keep the door open safely. It's evolved over time but eventually I put a magnet screen in her doorway to keep her from flying out and a baby gate to keep any dogs from coming in.
bedroom.png
Her net. In this picture the gate was temporarily in the bathroom door since I'm babysitting my fathers' puppy right now and he was having a time out while I took this picture for AA. Door was closed before Puppy was released of course.

10~ What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?

Firstly, my landlord will not allow me to hang anything from the ceiling, even if I repair the damage before I move out. If I could come up with hanging platforms it would more than double the usable space she'd have.
Second it's very plain Jane compared to some of the incredible setups I've seen. I look at other people's beautiful bird rooms with lots of hanging toys and sprawling gyms then in the cupboard to my left where my silly potato is in a tupperware full of beads gently farting herself to sleep. I feel like I should try and do more even knowing because of Peanut's age and general velcro tendencies it would pretty much go unused.
AngryFriend.png
Angry bird who doesn't appreciate having her picture taken during ball pit time.

11~ What do you like most about your setup?
It's what Peanut wants/needs. The things I feel like I want for her I already know from past experience she will not use so I try not to sweat it and find things I can adapt to her use. Like the red tray by the TV with the lip, it makes it harder for her to throw toys onto the floor when she chases them. Giving her the desk cupboard allows her to build nests to her heart's content without crawling around on the floor getting to trouble (though perhaps because of her age didn't actually make her hormonal somehow. She just wants to build nests.)
Plus it's a safe space we can share; plenty for me to do, plenty for her to do, without having to bring her into the rest of the house when I had dogs.
Cage.png
Video games and bird toys in our shared space. From a few weeks ago, and yes the towels are to catch poop. There are 4 in total under all her main spots for easy cleanup.

12~ Did your bird(s) take to the setup right away or did they approach it tentatively needing time to adjust and do you feel their age was a factor?
It took a while. I got Peanut when I was 13 and didn't really understand the importance of independent play or her having play areas outside her cage. When I moved away from home and finally had the opportunity to start teaching her without her annoying my father she was 5/6 years old. It probably took her a good year to really start using the spaces I gave her independently. Once she started she gained confidence quickly and as long as I give her something to do she is content to entertain herself while I'm not in the room. Now, if I am home, she is cage free.
Poof.png
Angry poof friend showing how ludicrous her nest gets if I don't clean it out for a week.

13~ Any future renovations planned?
Given all her areas are on furniture, I'd love to get another table or dresser sometime to go between the desk and her cage so she has another surface to play on.


And a couple of small extra photos:
FortPeanut.png
One of my favorites showing just how messy the computer desk can get. Also she built a tiny fort out of toilet paper. :hilarious:

Yell_1.png
Her yelling at her favorite desk toy which was a very kind gift from Fluffypoptarts. :heart:
 

Sylvi_

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/27/15
Messages
4,244
Location
South Florida
Real Name
Sylvi
Congrats!! :starshower1:

Peanut is just too cute. :heart::heart:
 

sunnysmom

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/16/13
Messages
28,803
Location
Pennsylvania
Real Name
Michelle
What a spoiled little birdie. :D Congrats!!! And I just love her in her ball pit. :heart:
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
Interesting interview and nice set up. Congratulations!
 

expressmailtome

Ripping up the road
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/15/10
Messages
49,992
Real Name
Matthew
I enjoyed reading about your setup.
 

KimKim

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
12/21/13
Messages
4,206
Location
MN
:congrats3:
 

Tiel Feathers

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/15/14
Messages
20,193
Location
Quincy,CA
Real Name
Deanna
:congrats5:
Peanut is adorable and she looks very happy in her home!
:starshower::starshower1:
 

Greycloud

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/17/09
Messages
19,270
So adorbs! Such a lucky, loved bird!:heart::heart::heart::heart::heart:
 

Clueless

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
11/3/12
Messages
24,021
Lovely little birdie.... cool ball pit!
 

Laurul Feather Cat

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/12/10
Messages
11,162
Location
Steelton, PA, USA
Real Name
Lois
:congrats5: Peanut is just a cutie and has great digs.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
 

fluffypoptarts

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/15/12
Messages
6,883
Location
Florida
:bounce7: Congratulations! I loved the interview and the pictures. :D:heart2:
 

Kellie728

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
8/25/14
Messages
1,426
Location
Wisconsin
Real Name
Kellie
Little Peanut is so adorable. Congrats!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top