The Basil Blog

[Miss Annamarie]

I think we found a new favourite food!!
Careful of the aloe monster!!!
He's also addicted to limes lately, I've been putting a little bit of lime juice on his food lately and he LOVES it.
When he was hungry he flew into the kitchen today!
Part of me is really interested in free flight but really scared of it.

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Basil just ate half a mango! He's become a little piggy

 

[Miss Annamarie]

I put half of a grapefruit on his playstand to see if he would be into it. All he did was fling the rind around! (But at least it was cute)

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Messy beak boy!

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Basil has pretty much cut down to about 2 feedings a day from the 3-5 range he was at. He's eating A LOT better now! He decided he does like chop but he likes his pieces of mango, apple, and blueberry whole! He won't stop babbling it's adorable!

 

[mythic55]

Part of me is really interested in free flight but really scared of it.

Free flight or flighted? they are very different.

Free flight is like my birds- they fly free outside. They recall to come back to me- takes months/years to train the comfort level. Flighted means they are not clipped.
Clipping a birds wings is dangerous for the bird (they can get seriously hurt).

Here is the chop mix for a 11 week old ekkie (note the beak color). 3 hand feedings a day (with a dash of the lorikeet nectar. I always use InTune feeding formula).
This mix is:
Boiled: sweet potato, butternut squash, chickpea noodles, carrots, kidney beans, AND frozen/defrosted: Mango, Paypaya, strawberry, pinneaple, jackfruit, cranberries, blueberries, lemon plum, zucchini, peapods, brussel sprouts, apple, cherries, grapes, soursop, guava, green beans. Along with this: Tropican pellets, Origin eclectus mix, volkacom eclectus mix, TOPS pellets and freeze dried fruit mix. On top- sprouted seeds and legumes.

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Free flight or flighted? they are very different.

Free flight is like my birds- they fly free outside. They recall to come back to me- takes months/years to train the comfort level. Flighted means they are not clipped.
Clipping a birds wings is dangerous for the bird (they can get seriously hurt).

Here is the chop mix for a 11 week old ekkie (note the beak color). 3 hand feedings a day (with a dash of the lorikeet nectar. I always use InTune feeding formula).
This mix is:
Boiled: sweet potato, butternut squash, chickpea noodles, carrots, kidney beans, AND frozen/defrosted: Mango, Paypaya, strawberry, pinneaple, jackfruit, cranberries, blueberries, lemon plum, zucchini, peapods, brussel sprouts, apple, cherries, grapes, soursop, guava, green beans. Along with this: Tropican pellets, Origin eclectus mix, volkacom eclectus mix, TOPS pellets and freeze dried fruit mix. On top- sprouted seeds and legumes.
View attachment 330480

Thank you so much for the recipe!!
I'm REALLY interested in free flight for both my ekkies but also really scared.

All my birds are flighted except for Mel who came to us clipped.

 

[mythic55]

Those feathers will grow back

When birds are allowed to take flight- it reminds me of when kids learn to walk. Such an amazing moment.

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Those feathers will grow back

When birds are allowed to take flight- it reminds me of when kids learn to walk. Such an amazing moment.

Yes!! It's so sweet. All my birds except Basil came clipped and they are 100x more happier flighted!

 

[Miss Annamarie]

He only has about 4 toys in his cage right now because he destroys them so fast!! It's insane, he is gonna get some more when I go to Fargo next week. He usually likes to eat on top of his cage or with us but we put his food bowl back in at night and take it out and put it on top in the morning. Besides the time when he's on us he spends a good 80% of his time on top of his cage. He does like the playgym (which we need to finish) but not as much as the little birds. We are gonna get tile for under his cage and under the playgym.
If you believe it, that wad of palm on the playstand used to be a large cube just last week!
It's a little dirty because he waddles over and poops on the front of his cage
@mythic55

 

[mythic55]

How did this miss this?
Im sorry. Something goofy was going on with my tags- lol.

Very soon Basil will start getting 'frisky' STOCK UP on toys. I mean- boxes..... Sola wood is a favorite but obviously goes fast. Thin pine, balsa, mahagony pods, paper/cardboard goodies, etc. I know people have great stuff on this site, but im not too familiar with them. I usually buy 'bulk' items online so I can make my own and reuse certain items.

This is what my green goblins STAND looks like- he will finish all this off in a couple days
Then repeat.

 

[mythic55]

Beautiful enclosure size.... lots of room to fill it!

 

[Miss Annamarie]

So Basil's aim is not the beat, he usually lands on heads.
Yesterday he scratched my dad's cornea, at least he gets to stay home from work!

 

[mythic55]

Sorry about your father. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

How is basil's descend?
Many young birds learn to ascend (fly up) but then cant master the descend until they are a bit older. It takes a lot of strength to open those tail feathers to slow down, and to use those wings against the air current (like trying to run in a river) to hover and land at the right angle, timing and then balance without use of their beak.

A big fuzzy head (especially if they have spent time on shoulders) seems like the BEST bet to them. They are in fact- aiming for it- its no accident.

Time for clicker training!
Start at 6" and ensure that clicker and treat are ready to go. Hold your hand with palm facing you... with your THUMB UP! about 4inches below his perch.

Call for recall. When he gets the 'jump' done. Click. Treat. Close you thumb on the top of his feet as he finishes his treat (1/3-1/2 a pine nut, or 1/8 an almond- whatever you choose). Then place him back down, 'step down' with another click, and another treat. Over many days, work on moving further back.

Shoulders and heads are 'permission based' (only). So we need to enforce that as they are not a safe landing location for large birds and humans sake

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Basil is a complete little piggy! He eats CONSTANTLY, he loves nothing more than just sitting on top of his cage and chowing down. He's started flying to either me or my dad every time we walk in or out of the room. He's super talkative with his little babbles. Since like 3 weeks ago since he's become more confident in flying, we've been doing flight training and he's been doing really good. He LOVES walks, once in awhile it's been almost 60, the sun feels so nice, and we've taken him out and he adores it. I can't handle how adorable he is, I just want to squish him!!!!!

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Same as last update ALL HE DOES IS EAT!! If you dare leave a vegetable on the counter and walk away for 2 minutes, your floor will be littered with zucchini shreds. You think we would have learned not to leave them out once in awhile anymore! He loves to fly and he's definitely chosen my dad as his person. He's fallen into daily routines super well and the orange in his eyes and beak is really coming in! He's a little smaller than Mel by about 150g. The vet also says he's practically perfect and I'm offering great variety of food for him! I'm so glad I have a vet who doesn't reccomend pellets. I practically have a full time job of making him toys as he destroys new ones daily. He's a little sweetheart.

 

[Miss Annamarie]

Pictures!

 

[Monaco]

What a good bird with his harness on!