Q-Tip: A Man After Someone Else’s Heart Tippy spends most of his days trying to woo Winston, our English budgie. She is a strong, independent woman who needs no man, though, so his efforts fall flat (we were THRILLED when they were sitting side-by-side the other day). Hubby and I have been going back and forth over whether to get him a friend who wants the … Continue reading Kindling the Cockatiel’s Affections
The first time you catch your re-homed parrot dipping her head into her water and sending it flying all over the place is the time you should DEFINITELY give her a spray bath. Continue reading April Showers bring May TBD / Step-Up Progress: Semi-Consistent
…Because I have been busier than any person has a right to be, but we made more progress with Vi! She stepped up for Fletcher last night for a tasty piece of bread. She also let him pet her–exciting, because we were expecting her to be a one-person bird and merely tolerate him. Not so! She stepped up today from her cage to go upstairs. Granted, … Continue reading Step-Up Progress: Stepping Up for Bread!
Decided to update Winston’s cage from the janky, rickety red one that always falls apart to a swankier blue one (this involved purchasing it from a neighbor on the other end of the development and carrying it waiter-style on my shoulder ALLLLLL the way back to my house, thus solidifying my position as the resident crazy bird lady). The only sad part was the loss … Continue reading Diggin’ the Deck
Vi and I sing the end of “So Long, Farewell!” from The Sound of Music. Yes, we’re goobers. Continue reading And thus, Vi begins her singing career…
Can’t blame him. 140 graded essays and three hours of tech support later, I’ve barely glanced at the dude. Doesn’t help I didn’t get home until seven thirty last night due to late field trip busses… X.x This is the busiest week of my entire life, but I am so happy. 🙂 So many golden opportunities and memories I’ll never have the chance to make … Continue reading Louie is jealous of the computer.
“Spare the rod and then spoil the child!” Take that saying as the opposite what is meant by most folks, and you’ve got seriously the best advice you can take if you ever want to win the trust of a rehomed parrot… She needs to be a bit spoiled for a bit. 🙂 Spare that rod–no negative reinforcement; praise for what you want, don’t scold … Continue reading Positive Reinforcement with Parrots: Every Experience a Positive One
In the “a stitch in time saves nine” quotes category, there’s a popular saying in education: “Go slow to go fast.” Essentially, if you don’t want to re-teach a skill multiple times over, it’s worth teaching it well  and thoroughly the first time. Which takes patience. So, so much patience. Shockingly, this is also true for bird training! Vi and I have been going agonizingly slowly in our developing … Continue reading Go Slow to Go Fast in Step Up Training: No Negative Experiences
Look at this punk! We’ve been home all of fifteen minutes, and he’s clinging to his cage with those pathetic orange eyes like he didn’t JUST spend the entire day with his person. I think this calls for commentary by Regina George… Continue reading Needy beasty!
One of the hardest parts about teaching for me is that I have to leave my fids at home. Sure, my admin *might* be open to my bringing of my feathered friends to school occasionally since they don’t leave potential allergy-inducing dander behind, but let’s be real–I teach middle school, and kids do stupid things to each other. Who knows what stupid things might accidentally … Continue reading Teacher In-Service Days = The Best
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