Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Parry is really a great bird. she has been needing some mediction (she was on cipro for an earlier infection they found, but they saw that the infection was still there so we are using a different antibiotic) and although we do have to towel her (towelling her is not difficult at all - my husband plays peekaboo with her for a bit then towels her for her meds) she takes the meds without a fuss. she's a really good bird.
oh, we also took her into get some xrays done. Dr. Chris Sanders wanted to see if there was anything that was causing her infection to continue. He found nothing that would prolong this infection, but he found some hardened arteries due to her previous diet of mostly nuts and seeds.
and although she still doesn't really trust me as much as my husband, she tolerates me well and doesn't lunge at me or go out of her way to try and attack me. i have cleaned her cage with her perched on her cage and she has been wandering on the ground in her room, as i sat on the ground near her cage. she has never shown any aggression towards me and she has calmly walked around me.
she continues to LOVE to forage...great reinforcement for her is the yummy nuts she finds. this weekend is a bird mart where i can find really great toys and toy making parts at great prices. i think i will look more for great foraging materials and toys for her.
oh, and she is starting to "talk" more. i have heard her say "hello" more often and she does chime in on the morning and early afternoon calls that the other birds make (Parry is still not anywhere near the loudness you would normally associate with macaws, but she is a bit more vocal than when we first met her.
oh, we also took her into get some xrays done. Dr. Chris Sanders wanted to see if there was anything that was causing her infection to continue. He found nothing that would prolong this infection, but he found some hardened arteries due to her previous diet of mostly nuts and seeds.
and although she still doesn't really trust me as much as my husband, she tolerates me well and doesn't lunge at me or go out of her way to try and attack me. i have cleaned her cage with her perched on her cage and she has been wandering on the ground in her room, as i sat on the ground near her cage. she has never shown any aggression towards me and she has calmly walked around me.
she continues to LOVE to forage...great reinforcement for her is the yummy nuts she finds. this weekend is a bird mart where i can find really great toys and toy making parts at great prices. i think i will look more for great foraging materials and toys for her.
oh, and she is starting to "talk" more. i have heard her say "hello" more often and she does chime in on the morning and early afternoon calls that the other birds make (Parry is still not anywhere near the loudness you would normally associate with macaws, but she is a bit more vocal than when we first met her.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Parry has just gone through 2 weeks of cipro medication (.3cc twice a day) and after a recheck from the vet, they found that she still has elevated levels of white blood cell count - which means that she is still fighting some kind of infection. we have been asked by the vet to have her x-rayed to see if there is anything internally going on that is causing this prolonged infection. we are waiting for more direction from the macaw coordinator, but im sure that will be coming shortly.
Parry continues to enjoy her time with my husband. she enjoys scritches from him. i have not been able to touch her yet (except on the toes through the cage bars), but i have been able to give her nut treats to her outside of her cage. (i think that is due to my own personal hesitation to try this than parry's fear of me).
I also allow her out of the cage (only if my husband is around though...i have not yet tried to have her step up on to a stick in my hand - again, probably due to my fear of being bitten by such a large beak). i don't flinch back when she tries to crawl around her cage to be near me. i just talk to her very softly and not give her full eye contact for longer stretches of time (i don't want her to think that i am either challenging her or thinking of her as a meal).
She LOVES to forage. we do make it a point to fill up her "foraging stations" that she has around her cage (there are about 3, but i will hide a nut in new places to just have her roam around her cage). she will go to each one, fling out all the stuff i put in them (SO cute and funny!) and go for the nuts. she thinks that she knows where all the nuts are so if i were to hide a nut in a cardboard cylinder, she usually doesn't think to look in that and just flings that to the bottom of her cage with the nut inside - oh well...
she has gotten VERY good at unlocking the plastic foraging treasure chest i have in her cage. it took her a while to get to know how it worked, but that lasted about a week. now she can get it open in a blink of an eye. (and that thing has two "keys" you have to manipulate to open the chest!)
Parry likes strawberries! we have strawberries growing in our veggie garden and she eats them with gusto. oh, and we also have her on pellets. she has really taken a liking to roudybush, but we now mix those with harrison's. so far roudybush continues to be her favorite.
Parry also is getting a little more vocal - no noises longer than a second or two, and nothing as loud as what you would normally think a macaw would make, but she has started to make honking and short whining-type of noises - especially if she is in the midst of going through her foraging stations.
I do think she is still plucking, but that will take a while, if she ever gets out of the habit.
Parry continues to enjoy her time with my husband. she enjoys scritches from him. i have not been able to touch her yet (except on the toes through the cage bars), but i have been able to give her nut treats to her outside of her cage. (i think that is due to my own personal hesitation to try this than parry's fear of me).
I also allow her out of the cage (only if my husband is around though...i have not yet tried to have her step up on to a stick in my hand - again, probably due to my fear of being bitten by such a large beak). i don't flinch back when she tries to crawl around her cage to be near me. i just talk to her very softly and not give her full eye contact for longer stretches of time (i don't want her to think that i am either challenging her or thinking of her as a meal).
She LOVES to forage. we do make it a point to fill up her "foraging stations" that she has around her cage (there are about 3, but i will hide a nut in new places to just have her roam around her cage). she will go to each one, fling out all the stuff i put in them (SO cute and funny!) and go for the nuts. she thinks that she knows where all the nuts are so if i were to hide a nut in a cardboard cylinder, she usually doesn't think to look in that and just flings that to the bottom of her cage with the nut inside - oh well...
she has gotten VERY good at unlocking the plastic foraging treasure chest i have in her cage. it took her a while to get to know how it worked, but that lasted about a week. now she can get it open in a blink of an eye. (and that thing has two "keys" you have to manipulate to open the chest!)
Parry likes strawberries! we have strawberries growing in our veggie garden and she eats them with gusto. oh, and we also have her on pellets. she has really taken a liking to roudybush, but we now mix those with harrison's. so far roudybush continues to be her favorite.
Parry also is getting a little more vocal - no noises longer than a second or two, and nothing as loud as what you would normally think a macaw would make, but she has started to make honking and short whining-type of noises - especially if she is in the midst of going through her foraging stations.
I do think she is still plucking, but that will take a while, if she ever gets out of the habit.
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