Post your pet!

phero.1 · 2015-04-18T21:02:25.000Z

Have you got kids? Our bird, very similar to your bird, was trained to perfection. Every morning my mother would get up and open its cage, then it would fly down and wake us kids by picking on our noses. Every evening it would eat at our table with a plate of its own. It would dance around in sauce and shit but it made every meal memorable. When us kids were forced to take a bath, it would balance on the sponges like some sea captain of old. It would try to land on the soapy foam in the bathtub and get really agitated when it didn’t work. A good evening was spent regurgitating today’s meal to its friend in the bathroom mirror.

One morning it didn’t come. In fact no one came to wake us. He was on his back in the bottom of his cage, school was cancelled that day.

RIP “Butchey”. Never forget.

Lloyd_Heilbrunn · 2015-04-18T21:22:40.000Z

If it had a noticeable yolk, was it actually unfertilized??

fire · 2015-04-18T21:23:21.000Z

Regurgitated meals are my favorite meals.

Yeah, I have a son (he’s 6). The bird was his idea. For about two months he brought home books about birds and we studied the different kinds of birds and what kind of birds would be good for our family. He was set on a parakeet even though I tried to upsell him on a senegal or conure. So now we have a parakeet.

fire · 2015-04-18T21:23:42.000Z

Lloyd Heilbrunn:

If it had a noticeable yolk, was it actually unfertilized??

How do I know? I mean that seriously. I have no idea what a fertilized egg looks like (unless it’s human).

Lloyd_Heilbrunn · 2015-04-18T21:27:59.000Z

I’m guessing birds are like reptiles where you see blood vessels(and a bigger “yolk”) if it is fertilized. But I don’t know for sure.

I breed reptiles and to tell if the eggs are fertile we “candle” them(shine light thru) to look for the blood vessels. Since birds are essentially reptiles I would try this if she lays another.

fire · 2015-04-18T21:32:31.000Z

Well, if she lays another, it’ll be unfertilized. Who knows what antics went on at the pet store.

fire · 2015-04-18T21:38:48.000Z

I gave her a dish with water and put it in the bottom of the cage in case she wants to take a bath. Humans want to wash after delivering babies so I figure Pepper might want to bathe after passing an egg. Is “passing” the right word? Gah.

Giles_Habibula · 2015-04-18T22:59:39.000Z

phero.1:

Have you got kids? Our bird, very similar to your bird, was trained to perfection. Every morning my mother would get up and open its cage, then it would fly down and wake us kids by picking on our noses. Every evening it would eat at our table with a plate of its own. It would dance around in sauce and shit but it made every meal memorable. When us kids were forced to take a bath, it would balance on the sponges like some sea captain of old. It would try to land on the soapy foam in the bathtub and get really agitated when it didn’t work. A good evening was spent regurgitating today’s meal to its friend in the bathroom mirror.

One morning it didn’t come. In fact no one came to wake us. He was on his back in the bottom of his cage, school was cancelled that day.

RIP “Butchey”. Never forget.

I really enjoy stories like this. Thanks.
I’m also enjoying fire’s adventures.

krayzkrok · 2015-04-19T00:05:32.000Z

Lloyd Heilbrunn:

I’m guessing birds are like reptiles where you see blood vessels(and a bigger “yolk”) if it is fertilized. But I don’t know for sure.

I breed reptiles and to tell if the eggs are fertile we “candle” them(shine light thru) to look for the blood vessels. Since birds are essentially reptiles I would try this if she lays another.

Blood vessels only appear once the developing embryo grows large enough for them to be visible; it’s normally done in bird eggs that are at least a week old. The same is true with reptiles for the most part.

TimElhajj · 2015-04-19T00:28:39.000Z

RichVR:

I have never said shut up Tim before. But Tim, shut up.

Ok Rich. Scrambled~

fire · 2015-04-19T07:23:53.000Z

phero.1:

Have you got kids? Our bird, very similar to your bird, was trained to perfection. Every morning my mother would get up and open its cage, then it would fly down and wake us kids by picking on our noses. Every evening it would eat at our table with a plate of its own. It would dance around in sauce and shit but it made every meal memorable. When us kids were forced to take a bath, it would balance on the sponges like some sea captain of old. It would try to land on the soapy foam in the bathtub and get really agitated when it didn’t work. A good evening was spent regurgitating today’s meal to its friend in the bathroom mirror.

One morning it didn’t come. In fact no one came to wake us. He was on his back in the bottom of his cage, school was cancelled that day.

RIP “Butchey”. Never forget.

This was a wonderful story. I don’t know how I missed the last part about Butchey’s death. It’s always tragic to lose a household pet, especially one so engaged in our lives and central to our daily activities. RIP Butchey.

Dave_Markell · 2015-04-19T07:57:03.000Z

fire:

I gave her a dish with water and put it in the bottom of the cage in case she wants to take a bath. Humans want to wash after delivering babies so I figure Pepper might want to bathe after passing an egg. Is “passing” the right word? Gah.

One lays an egg and passes a kidney stone. I’m sure Pepper is insulted by the comparison. ;-)

Lloyd_Heilbrunn · 2015-04-19T11:42:39.000Z

krayzkrok:

Blood vessels only appear once the developing embryo grows large enough for them to be visible; it’s normally done in bird eggs that are at least a week old. The same is true with reptiles for the most part.

Sorry, I should have suggested waiting awhile, I just assumed it, since you are correct, of course.

fire:

Well, if she lays another, it’ll be unfertilized. Who knows what antics went on at the pet store.

Can birds retain sperm??

fire · 2015-04-19T13:21:54.000Z

Ask not what your bird will do for you. . . ask what you will do for your bird.

RichVR · 2015-04-19T14:47:13.000Z

TimElhajj:

Ok Rich. Scrambled~

Sorry Tim, my comment was uncalled for.

fire · 2015-04-19T15:11:21.000Z

Still won’t eat unless it’s out of my hand. I haven’t seen her get down and drink. Is my bird okay? She had a buddy at the pet store; is it possible she will only eat regurgitated food? How do I learn to regurgitate?

TimElhajj · 2015-04-19T15:16:48.000Z

RichVR:

Sorry Tim, my comment was uncalled for.

It’s cool. I’m grooving on the drama of fire’s new pet bird. You’re the bird whisperer!

Kemper_Boyd · 2015-04-19T15:46:49.000Z

krayzkrok · 2015-04-19T16:38:45.000Z

Lloyd Heilbrunn:

Can birds retain sperm??

Yes, they have a specialised area in the oviduct to store and nourish sperm for a few months, possibly longer.

fire:

Still won’t eat unless it’s out of my hand. I haven’t seen her get down and drink. Is my bird okay? She had a buddy at the pet store; is it possible she will only eat regurgitated food? How do I learn to regurgitate?

I’m certainly no great expert when it comes to captive husbandry of birds, and I defer here to RichVR, but in general I wouldn’t worry too much yet; every animal is different when adapting to a new situation, and as it becomes used to you and its stress levels go down, it should be more likely to eat normally. What I do with reptiles and crocs is hand-feed them in the same spot each time, then feed them less and less by hand and leave more and more in the bowl; they soon figure it out, and they can cue into a particular feeding time if you do it consistently. You can also use an associative noise, such as a bell, clicker, certain vocal signal (“food!”) etc to achieve the same effect.

RichVR · 2015-04-19T17:01:59.000Z

KK’s advice is spot on. If a bird is hungry and you only feed it a small amount by hand, eventually they will scavenge for more food.