UPDATE ON TBIRD

[merlin]

Slow is okay. Greys need to have that trust bond built first. Once that is done, the relationship can blossom. Actually, the fact that T-Bird is willing to sit on you proves that you are making a lot of progress. Continue to spend lots of time by her cage talking and reading to her... as well as letting her sit on you.

Also, food treats really help to build trust. Identify a favorite treat, such as sunflower seeds or cashews, or something like that. Stop serving it in the cage... but only from your hand. Give her one sunflower seed or cashew bit (cashews broken up) at a time, when you want to reward her and so on. Try not to give too many. That's why it is best to break it up into bits: so you can reward much more often.

How is your Congo handling the new flock member?

Be very sparing on peanut butter because it is SOOO fattening. My Merlin loves peanuts but hates peanut butter because it is "too dry" for her and hard to get off her beak. If you serve it, do it extremely sparingly and not very often. There is an article about peanuts in the nutrition part of the article section of this site. You may want to read it.

I'll check on pine cones. You definitely need to make sure that anything you bring in from the outdoors has NOT been sprayed with insecticide. Will get back to you on the pine cones.

Congrats! You're doing GREY'T!
Blessings,
Maggie-

[merlin]

Pine cones are okay. But be sure to pick clean, dry ones that have just fallen from the tree. Also, pick large ones instead of the small ones. Avoid any cones that have been sprayed with pesticides and/or herbicides.

Do not give one to your birds until you have thoroughly cleaned and baked it. Wash with water and vinegar. Then bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 225 degrees. Then let them sit in the turned-off oven for another 30 minutes to cool down. The cleaning is to rid of the sap and insects.

Also, if Bumpy and T-Bird have never seen cones before, they may get nervous. If so, introduce slowly like a toy.

Blessings,
Maggie-

[Lisa A. Bono]

Thanks for posting about the pine cones Maggie. I know threre are a lot of toys made with them. Some companies also use them and they stuff foraging things in them(toys/food). I was unaware of how them treated them prior to use.