Baloo!

Baloo, Bam Bam and I were lounging on the couch as usual when Baloo had the itch to create a little mayhem and decided he wanted to try some of Bam Bams rawhide. He walked towards it and started to gnaw on one end with Bam Bam eyeballing this colorful,gutsy, mini-dog. I took Baloo away so Bam Bam wouldnt become upset but Baloo was set on it and ran back to it. After a few times of annoyed squeals and running back he sprinted and jumped but instead of landing on the rawhide, landed on the side of Bam's head! Bam Bam got up and looked at me as this little bird was swinging and picking hairs on his ear! It was so funny but obviously Bam Bam was a little peeved ( gotta love his little understanding self) and I pulled Baloo away to his loud dissaproval. We all settled back in and Baloo was playing with my hand when he all of a sudden decided Bam's tail was much more entertaining and pounced on it. He clung to it on his side with both feet and his beak; Bam Bam looked at him and started slowly going in circles trying to smell him with Baloo dragging enjoying the ride. I again had to pull Baloo away kicking and screaming. I have to wonder, where is all of this little guys sense of danger or instinct? Thank goodness Bam Bam is good natured, has been raised around meddlesome little birds, and I am always supervising right next to them, but suppose he was in the wild? I understand that when we handfeed these little ones they place their trust in us and trust us to protect them but even the handfed tiels, lovebird, or Cockatoo that I have had were wary around other creatures the first few times. Baloo has absolutely to hesitation or fear! He really took the little-man syndrome and ran with it! So a word of caution to all: Dont let them be unsupervised around any other animal, heck with their gonads they really shouldnt be around other animals at all! You never know when they will get a hankering for a little furry dog tail and if youve got a biter than your feathered baby is toast!

So I was hemming Baloos sweater sock (don't laugh, it's cute and we like to take evening walks and it gets chilly lol), and there was a mini ziplock baggie with buttons that Baloo was playing with on the couch with me. Suddenly it's raining buttons as Baloo ripped a hole through and was shaking the bag wildly from side to side like a dog with a bag of bacon bits! I tried to take it away from him but he kept shaking it harder, then came the angry piggy squeals. I had him on his back at this point trying to wrestle the bag away but he was holding onto that thing like no other! I finally get it away but he made sure to let me know how he felt with his little squeals, the equivalent of a little birdy fist shake. A few hours later I was playing with Bam Bam and his squeaky toy while Baloo was occupied with the remote next to me. I started to squeak the umbrella toy because it always gets Bam riled up and the next thing I know theres a fluffy little parrot clinging onto it! I took him off and when Bam Bam brought the toy back and Baloo was on the other side of the couch I squeaked it again. Baloo dropped th remote and charged the umbrella, jumping and attacking it once he got a foot away! Eventually he calms down and the umbrella is allowed to exist in his presence but dare I squeak it, it's on! In conclusion I dont think it is a Caique I own but some sort of hybrid kitten bird. Although one can be fooled into thinking Baloo is a Caique I am almost convinced he is actually a flying feline that just rolled around in an assortment of vegetable dyes!

So I am quite proud of Baloo, I had no idea how quick and intelligent he really is. I was able to teach him to wave hello and play dead in two days. Teaching hi was fairly easy, I first crushed some walnut into bite size pieces. Then I would wave hello with my hand and with my other hand I would get near his chest to simulate "step up" and as soon as he would lift his foot I would give him a treat. I kept on doing this and gradually would have him lift his foot higher by lifting my "step up" hand higher then giving a treat. Then I would give him a treat the longer he kept his foot up. Soon he learned the correlation between my hand wave and the treat and started to say hi to get a Walnut. From here play dead was easy. I would my "gun hand" at Baloo and say bang and since he wanted a treat he would wave hi and I would just tip him over and give him a treat. I kept doing this and he eventually got it. Its so cute because now when he sees a walnut he starts falling over and waving hi, begging for it! Ill try to post a video soon so I can show my little baby off!

I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! The economy is slow right now and $$$ is tight but I am thankful for my health and my families health and the fact that I have my soulmate to share my life with as well as our two babies Baloo and Bam Bam! and that really is the sweetness of life and everyday I'm grateful to have them because that is all that really matters. With our lives being so short we can only hope to make an imprint by showing love to those we cherish and be kind to the animals whose lives we share with and make their,even shorter lives, as sweet as possible. Like I always say,dont fret the petty things and pet the pretty things lol! Well, on that note, I hope everyone a wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend and may it be as exiting and memorable as Thanksgiving was when you were seven!

I have been trying to potty train Baloo for a while now but I have got the aching feeling that something just isnt working. Every time I get him off the cage, after eating and playing I put him on the edge of the trash bin and tell him "go potty" and 7 out of ten times he does it, then I coddle him. I understand he will always have accidents, the thing I dont get is how is he going to let me know if he needs to make? He squats and goes so fast I cant get him to his poo zones fast enough. I have read that some birds will say "poop" or "potty" or wiggle their bottom or actually go to a poo place themselves, but I dont know what Baloo's cue is. It's quite frustrating, oh well, I guess I'm going to have to keep trying and hopes as he gets older he will start letting me know.

I just put an empty Hello Panda box at the bottom of Baloo's cage a couple days ago, just to see if he would want to chew it. He started to explore it when he discovered it had an opening to what is now the infinite world of Baloo's imagination. He walked into it and started purring and purring, it was soo cute ! the box was rocking back and forth as he was walking around in it, I managed to get a little footage but it's not that great. Since then he has been in and out of that box and whistles and cooes in there like it's the thing to do. So a word to all, dont waste your time and money, all you need is an empty Hello Panda box and there you go, Caique Carnival now open to all!

It took a good week and half of screaming and screaming but finally Baloo is gung-ho for Harrisons pellets. When I got him from the pet store they gave me so many different types of food and treats, treats that would go great with tea when your friends come over I swear! It was like a medley from Trader Joe's with dried berries, nuts and even white chocolate! I asked the vet about it and he said although white choc doesnt have the chemicals that makes chocolate toxic, he shouldnt be eating it anyway. But anyways, Im so happy Baloo is happy now. The first few days were torture as he was constantly crying for his normal medly of seed and more fresh fruits. He completely rejected the pellets and would throw them. I felt so bad and was so worried he wouldnt eat but I was closely watching him to make sure he wasnt losing weight or anything. I started giving him a 1/2 hour with regular seed then pellets and so and so forth with veggies in the morning and fruits at night as a dessert and gradually cut down the time with the regular seed and it worked! It was shaky for a few more days but it has been about 3 weeks now and he purrs now when i give him his pellets! And I do think they are better for him because of a little impromptu experiment. I ran out and he had to wait a couple days before I could get some so in replacement I gave him the pet store food. He had to eat more of it and would cry a little afterwards as if unsatisfied and his poo was always a different color and consistency and thin. When I finally brought home the pellets he was so happy and was growling at them! his poo went back to normal (which is alot easier to clean too) and he wasgetting full. So thank you Harrisons Bird Food for the yummy grub!

Caiques have a tendency to like to surf (grab onto clothes or hair with their feet and rub their head and chest all over you) but Baloo hasent done this in the five months we have had him. But  2 nights ago after a pleasant taco tuesday night, my friend came over and met Baloo for the first time. Baloo really took to him because not only was he absolutely lovin the adventures of wrinkled sweater land but he was surfing all over his chest! I guess he had to establish his fashion sense 1st before he could start expressing his love for it...:) Well I have to keep this a little short because he is running all over the keyboard and attacking the screen( I love his little sounds of dissaproval and anger when I take him off just so he can run and jump back to start attacking my hand :))

so yesterday was my b-day whoop whoop! It was very mellow with a couple friends and my boo and so of course we were gone the entire day. But this was Baloo's first time alone for that long. When we came home he was screaming and hollering, climbing all over trying to get out. I gave him some pomegranate to calm his little nerves (he was purring and loving it) and after he was all energy! he climbed on his gym and was regurgetating to my fingers (i know eww, but how do i tell him that?:D) and making his happy click noises. He was tumbling and rolling all over my robe and wrestling then all of a sudden Boom! Tired! I'm going to bed now Ma! And that was the end of that, he got his kicks and he was done!

wel actually it happened on Oct 30 but my blog was messing up, so hey, I'm posting it now! anyways, it was so cute he was chasing Daddy's hand and rolling over and being the cutest darn thing ever! I took a vid as a proper mom should so I could share with everyone! He has grown so much from the day he came and has added so many little quirks,antics and mutters to his resume everyday;I just love watching him adjust and open up while bonding with us:) So here is the vid for all the world to see my baby's first playtime with us !