Yummy Birdy Eats from the Garden

Okay, so my garden's a bit pathetic this year.  And it feels like it took FOREVER to really get going.  But I am FINALLY able to feed my birds from my own garden!

Through the winter, and whenever my garden isn't doing well, I have to buy greens from the grocery store to feed my birds.  Greens I like to buy include:
Collards
Mustard
Kale
Broccoli
Dandelions (when I can actually find them)

These are all great from the garden, too, but my birds also enjoy:
Nasturtiums (flowers and leaves)
Pansies (flowers and leaves)
Roses (just the flowers - no thorns!)
And of course, all the dandelions my garden is so good at growing!

And the best part is - these are all edible for people, too!  So you can add some color and flavor to your salads with birdy greens.

These are just a few of the possibilities for feeding your birds, but be sure to do your research before feeding anything new.  There are plants out there that don't agree with birds.

Happy Birding!

Ducklings arrived today!

Spring has always been a favorite time of year for me.  My bulbs come up with the first spring flowers, my roses begin to bud, and the birds go wild!  I see more and more birds outside as the spring progresses: robins come back to town, the hummingbirds should be arriving any day, and birds start thinking about their yearly family.

Yep, that's right.  Spring is in the air.  And wild birds aren't the only ones that know it.  Chicks are available in feed stores, and ducklings too!  I was able to get my chicks about a month ago, but my first group of ducklings arrived today.  Okay, so no, these ducklings are pets, not for the show.  My show ducklings will arrive in about another month.  But they're so cute!

I have decided that not only are ducklings the cutest things in the world, they're also the messiest!  After only 4 hours in their new brooder, I had to clean it!  Part of the reason ducklings are so messy is the way that ducks have to eat.  They take a bite of food, then wash it down with a sip of water.  And they're not very good at keeping things in their bills.  So food gets in their water dish, and watery food gets everywhere!

Then there's their poop.  Have you ever seen a duck poop?  It's pretty messy, and smelly too!  Have you ever seen baby poop?  Most babies (of most any animal) have messy, smelly poo too.  And ducklings are the worst!

So yes, ducklings are super cute.  But they have to be kept inside their first few weeks, which means there's a lot of cleaning involved.  Did you know you can get a diaper for a duck?  Yep, if you want an indoor, pet duck, you can have it wear a diaper to keep the mess under control.  But I prefer my chickens and ducks outside, where I don't have to worry about their mess so much, and they can do my gardening.  Chickens and ducks like to eat bugs and small plants, so they help keep the weeds down and snack on my slugs.  It's a win-win!

Happy Birding, and enjoy your Spring!

The Power Of a Thank You

Okay, no, this isn't really bird-related.  But it's an experience I had because of the show, and I just wanted to pass it along to everyone.

On Friday, I spent my day at Wilkeson Elementary School.  I had five shows with five different classrooms, and did I ever have a blast!  The kids were interested, engaged, asked great questions, the birds were well-behaved (mostly), and it was just a ton of fun!  However, the best part of the entire day was when I received a stack of thank-you cards from one of the teachers.

Reading through these cards during my next break totally made my day.  Sure, the teacher handed out pieces of paper and told the kids to write a thank you card, but many of the kids obviously thought hard about them.  I got some AWESOME drawings of birds that didn't even need to be labeled, and a lot of the kids said what their favorite part of the show was.  It meant a lot to me.  It's amazing what such a simple gesture can do.

Thank you, Wilkeson Elementary School!  I can't wait to go back next Friday for more shows!!

Happy Birding!

State Science Standards

Ashley's Avian Antics is working to incorporate Washington state's science standards into our shows.  This will take some time as I learn about the different standards, but I'm hoping to have this completed by the new year.  I have several shows coming up next year that I hope to have these standards implemented for.  In the meantime, I'd like to encourage teachers interested in our program to ask about a specific topic your students will be learning about at the time of their show.  For example, if you want a show in the beginning of December, and your students will be learning about wetlands, ask for a show about it!  Even if the topic you want isn't listed, I can still produce a show on it with a little advance notice.  Thanks!

Happy Birding!

Hilarious Post

Okay, so I'm reposting this.  Thank you to Linda from the Yahoo FreeFlight group for writing it up - I love it!  And now, for my two cents:  I can't, in good conscience, recommend anyone fly their birds outside.  I do, and I enjoy it, but there are risks.  I've come to terms with them, and to me, the benefits outweigh the risks, but this is an individual decision that each person has to make for themselves.  Okay, now to this hilariously funny post:

Well, see there are the closet flyers. But not IN the closet. Too small.  Be a messy affair don't you think? In a closet?

There were folks owning birds before the internet. It was a lonely existence. I'm talking wayyyy back when.... when soldiers were in Viet Nam and the like.

The only folks involved in bird clubs were the breeders it seemed. So, why bother with them? There was nothing in the bird club to make life better with one and their single bird. My bird sleeps on the head of my bed. He poops in the bathtub and flies back when done. Or on the newspaper in the living room (held down by a brick so it won't blow away when he flies). And the club members were so Clip Minded, it wasn't some people's cup of tea anyway.

So, back home, when it was a beautiful day, the front door was left open (no such thing as air conditioning in those days) and the bird just naturally went outside and did what birds do. Look for hawks? Well, not exactly. Just take a glance. If one isn't sitting on the corral post, then let Frankie-Jay- Raven-Whitie- whateverthename out for a good day's fun. They'll come back and scream at the door when they want back in. Usually trying to tear up the screen. Because it brought you running. Screens don't do the
job when they have holes in them. Durn horse flies will get in. They always seem to know when you are making a sandwich too, and that always brings them to scream at the windows... circling the house wanting IN because you are MAKING A SANDWICH.

Vets? Well, back then there wasn't such a thing as anything but the cow vet. He did horses too. He came to your house. The bird was healthy if he wasn't dead. Everybody knows that. They die if they get sick. So no one worried about it. The vet said to not worry. Medications? For the chickens. You bought a yellow powder to put in their water. You stopped your parrot or whatever it was (the companion bird who lives in the house) from drinking from that pail. As we all knew that the parrot didn't get the diseases the chickens did. Because a chicken will die and Frank or Robin or Jay or Raven or whatever his name is... he lived on. He didn't get on the ground either. Like the chickens or turkeys. He didn't even get around the pea fowl. They avoided
each other.

The cats were terrified of the parrot. Heck they were terrified of the yard birds. Chickens love cat food. They'll whap a cat on the head right quick and very hard, to get some cat food. You didn't want your pet bird to eat the cat food... chickens sometimes die and they ate cat food.. so don't let the pet bird eat the pellets.

Back in those days there wasn't permits to breed or own. You just did. Or at least we didn't know if there was. Crows are illegal? "When did that happen?" was the common response. Well, just don't tell the game warden. Besides, he's off trying to stop poachers. And get that bear that keeps scaring old widow-lady Smith by banging around in her garbage cans at night. Not to mention the darn cougar that's walking down the middle of the road all the dang time. Everybody says he's sick, because he walks down the middle of the road all the time. Even stopped the school bus once. And those feral hogs... well, don't ride your horse or a bike down by the old mill road no more. They are now chasing folks. I guess the game warden will be out there soon shooting them. We think the Wilson's hogs got loose and they just won't go get them up is what happened, so they went feral.

The Wilson's are lazy, ya know?

So, flying birds? It's not novel. It's not new. It's what birds do. They fly. And the keepers decided it was "safer" to clip their wings. Other folks, being a bit naive I guess? Thought it was cruel to clip their wings.
Well, if you do, don't they FALL? So, you don't. And if you turn some loose that you love, if it comes back, it loves ya back... right? And if it don't, don't you hunt it down and kill it? (That was a joke, but a common
one back then)

THEN the internet came along and people could now search and find some pretty darn expensive parrots. Big money. $2000 for a bird. The dream bird. A BIG one that is RED. Or something like that... and the person selling it to them was asked, so how do you start making friends with it and all so it won't fly away? And the person selling it said, a bit horrified, no no! Clip it's wings. .... but...but... won't it fall? Yes, it will, but it costs so much, don't let it get away.

But my birds don't fly away.

You are crazy. Don't you know if they fly away, they don't have any food and they'll STARVE? You are murdering them if you let them fly around. So you leave, mumbling, I guess there isn't any French fries or apple pie or steak and eggs in the wild, so I guess it would be kind of bad to have them fly away and starve.
But the seller heard you and said, DO NOT feed them FRENCH FRIES.

Huh? What do I feed them?

There's PARROT FOOD....

So you buy this junk that has seeds and stuff. And your bird doesn't seem to like it so much but, hey, they said it was good for them and you were feeding them something akin to POISON. So, you gave it to them. With regret.... and snuck in some steak and eggs and corn and melon and a sip of coffee, with cream and sugar. And their bowl held that seed because you were told by that there expert that they needed to eat that there seed. Then there came PELLETS.... and so you fed them that... and clipped their wings and they didn't get any steak and eggs or French toast or mashed potatoes or... wait wait... now there are folks saying to chunk the pellets in the garbage and feed them mashed potatoes and corn and beans and melon...????

Okay, well, I got news for the whole shebang... I've been not clipping their wings EITHER and I do put the pellets in their bowl, but there's a second bowl and I put anything I dang well please in there... including avocado! So there! Of course, not the peel and not the big fat poisonous seed, and I feed them near abouts anything I eat, except the meat and anything that has caffeine and such in it. I did figure that part out. That Coke might be the real thing, but it's not good for a bird. So there (sticking out my tongue).... and I ain't clipped wings in decades.

And they do fly. And they do fly outside... and the only one I've "lost" in forever is Cooper... Because the breeder said to clip him. He costs $2000. CLIP HIM FOR GOSHSAKES! And he died young of a heart attack because he NEVER FLEDGED and refused to try. EVER. Only bird I ever clipped. Never again. Ever. And then I didn't clip him, the person who raised him did it and didn't let him fledge.

So, that's the story of pet parrot ownership for the last 50 years. Oh, well, and some other species we'll call corvids and softbills, lol. My name is Linda and I no longer am in the closet as of a few years ago... I let my birds fly.

I'm sure there's more out there... heck, I know TWO who adopted birds from our foster program who let their birds fly. One is a sun conure. And the other is a blue front Amazon. Outside. When they work in the yard. They said they have to watch them... they'll get on the roof and chew on the house..... and these two folks don't even know each other. They don't care to know each other. It's like having a dog playing in the yard to them. And that doesn't inspire folks to know someone else who has a dog in their yard.

In fact, if, let's say, the sun conure's owner fesses up to letting Charlie fly outside... someone will probably go bonkers and start harping how he is being irresponsible and endangering Charlie's life. Why a hawk could get
him! The crows could get him! A cat could get him! Well, Charlie's owner says, but he's skilled and I DO look for a hawk (like I said earlier, it's not sitting there waiting on the back porch railing for "dinner" to be let
out, so there must not be a hawk in the area... right? We all know they can see miraculously well and they see you before you see them). But why even argue with someone you don't even know about whether or not you want to let your bird go preen in the sun, fly around the yard and run off with your trowel and hand tools, the gloves and then go try to peel the trim off your house? Debate how-in-heck life can be complete with a bird who has no wings.

Same-o Same-o
God made birds and was glad to see them fly.
Man saw the bird and built a cage.
Linda/FL

Are You Prepared?

September is National Preparedness Month.  Are you and your pets prepared for a natural disaster?  Here's what you need to be sure you have, organized and quickly packed:

Each of your animals needs its own crate.  I use the same crate to cart my indoor cat to her yearly vet exam that I use to take my chickens to and from their pen.  I need to get another crate so I could take them both with me safely.

Food.  Do you have food that is easily and quickly packed, and does not need refrigeration?  This is where feeding pellets in addition to a fresh food diet (to birds) is very helpful.  Even though packing up a bunch of fruits and veggies would probably take too much time, I can quickly grab their bag of pellets and they'd be good for awhile.  I also store all my animal feed in the same location:  chicken and duck feed, cat food, bird food, even my turtle pellets, are all in the same location, so grabbing them all would be quick and easy.

Water.  Do you have a bottle of water that you refill every day and can easily grab?  I use a gallon water jug to fill my large water dish in the bird room, and it stays filled in a corner.  Alternatively, keep an unopened gallon of bottled water in each car.

Medications.  Are your pets on any medications?  Would they be quick and easy to grab?

First Aid Kit.  Animals can get into all sorts of trouble, whether during a natural disaster or everyday.  Keeping a well-stocked first aid kit handy and easily accessible makes any emergency less stressful.  Do you know how to and when to use everything in your first aid kit?  Attending a "Pet First Aid" class would be beneficial.  Include in your first aid kit your vet's name and number, as well as a 24 hour emergency vet hospital.

Training.  Do your pets crate easily and quickly?  Will they if you're stressed and worried?  Nothing is worse than knowing you need to leave NOW but your animals are sensing your panic and refusing to crate up.  And no one wants to stress their animals unduly by forcibly catching them in an emergency.  Not only does this stress your pet, it stresses you, and uses valuable time.

Environment control.  Do you have any animals with specific environment needs?  Like specific humidity or temperature requirements?  Do you have a way of providing for those needs while "on the run"?  Most animals with these sorts of needs are reptiles, amphibians, or invertebrates, and usually can survive less-than-ideal conditions for short times.  But why stress your pets if you don't need to?  I keep a few hand warmers in my first aid kit to provide emergency mobile heat.  You can keep a sponge as well, to dampen and provide humidity.

So, to sum up:  Make sure everything your animals need to survive for a few days is able to be easily and quickly packed.  Store foods, first aid kits, and other necessary supplies in as few locations as possible.  And finally, invest in the time to train your pets to crate quickly and without fuss.  This could save their lives in an emergency, and even if one never comes up, it certainly makes vet visits less stressful.

Happy Birding!

The Bird Room

Last time we talked about how to bird proof a room.  I thought I'd give you an idea of some different things you can do:

The bedroom came without closet doors, so I slipped this table in.  It gives plenty of eating space, but doesn't take up too much room.

Here's a picture of the net you can just see in the top of the previous picture.  Everyone loves it!

Moving to the left of the feeding table, you can see the large cage I have.  The table and cage are connected with a long rope perch, which helps my disabled birds get around.  I keep most of my bird food in the freezer, along with reptile food.  Nothing more embarrassing than having company over, they look in the freezer to get some ice cubes, and all they see is frozen mice and bird seed!

Better view of the cage.  I use a lot of rope perches and platforms.  Not only are rope perches fun to chew on, but they're great for exercising birdy feet!  And they're a bit softer than wood.

The shelf is a favored hang-out area.

Moving to the right of the feeding table, you can see how I put vinyl around the window.  This not only protects that area from being chewed, but it makes it MUCH easier to clean up.  Note the tape on the windows.  This warns the bird that there is, in fact, a barrier there.  Once they get used to it, the tape can be removed.

Definitely my favorite part of the bird room, the bird tree!  Everyone loves hanging out on and chewing the freshly cut branches.  Just make sure you use safe trees that haven't been sprayed.  You can see it in the left of this photo:  there's hardware cloth on the inside of the window screen.  The birds started to make larger holes in the screen, so I put up the hardware cloth.  It also happens to be easier for birds to hang onto, letting them check out what's going on outside.

In the top of this photo is the little shelf I put near the ground for the button quail to hide under and sit on top of.  On the right, you can see my solution to birds that love bathing in their water.  The larger dish catches most of the water that is sprayed out, and prevents me spilling the water when I take it out to be cleaned.

I have a dish of sand out for the mousebirds and button quail to bath in - of course, no one wanted to use it right then!  It's great fun to watch them dustbathe, but they do get sand EVERYWHERE!!  You can also see the rugs I put down in the room, in this pic and the last one.  This makes it easier to clean (the rugs just get washed), and gives the button quail something soft to walk on.

In hindsight, the floors would probably have been easier to both install and clean with plain vinyl.  But I love my floor anyway (peel and stick tiles)!

I hope this gives you some good ideas to create your own birdy-haven.  Happy Birding!