Baloo!

so I am debating with myself over the ageless argument, to clip or not to clip. I have always believed wing clipping was the proper way to keeping your bird safe. But two incidents got me thinking. First we all went to the park, Baloo was on his harness and got spooked and flew off my finger but since he was leashed he was flying in one place. So fred and i wanted to see if we ran with him as he was in his harness, would he "fly"? So I ran with Baloo and sure ienough his little feet tucked in and he "flew", it was so cute. When we got home he was quiet and and grooming himself and playing with is inside toys, rather than screaming to get our attention. Then I went to the Pet Expo where I saw a bird trainer and his free flighted birds which was just beautiful. It was so unique seeing a scarlet Macaw in a tree. And now I have been reading that being able to fly, parrots become more intelligent as they are excercising all parts of the brain and body and they are happier and better excercised. I by no means want Baloo to be free flighted as he is almost a year old and from what I read , past his prime training time, AND I am not a proffessional trainer and I am terrified of anything happeining to him, but what about harness flying? I thought maybe he could be semi-flighted,lol? is there such a thing? That way whie he is on a harness he can fly about to get exercise. Well I ordered the Aviator harness to replace the Feather Teather he has since it is so inconvenient to put on and the latch bothers him, and then well see. I just want him to exercise and have high self-esteem, like any teenage boy :)

havent been on in a while. I have to admit sloww upload times has a little to do with it. Baloo is just as bratty as ever. After going to the OC pet Expo yesterday and seeing the Birdmans free flight bird show ( which was awesome by the way) I was inspired to teach Baloo some more tricks. So yesterday he mastered Basketball, and yes I and Daddy are so very proud. Ok so it isnt really a B-ball hoop yet, its just a cup that he runs and puts the ball into but it is still so cute! I just have to make a DIY b-ball hoop for him. Now I'm trying to teach him shapes but it is proving to be a little more time consuming. Whats really nice though is that after training sessions, he gets soo involved that he would be pooped aterwards and take a nap or have some quiet time ( which is otherwise, highly unusual, unless he had an adventurous day like going to the park or beach for awhile). Im going to try to get some new pics and vids up too that are updated, and once I have the right props I'll put up more vids of his new trick!

Last night Baloo was on his back under my chin and was doing his sleepy cuddles for a while where he lets me scratch him all over and he closes his eyes and contributes every now and then. I noticed that he kept holding on to his beak with his foot and whenever I would seperate him from it he would reach and hold it again. Just like a pacifier with a toe in his mouth and the rest curled around his beak. Not nibbling or anything, just holding it, it was so adorable! I wish I could have taped it but lord knows he would have gotten up to destroy the camera anyways. He looked just like a baby! Awww..my little boo boo face!

I'm a little embarrassed for him, he really had no shame, I mean it was in front of me and everything, but Baloo ....humped. Only once and he hasnt done it again but still, where did he learn this? TV? Music? Oddly enough, the recipient of his little teenage act was a ping pong ball that he managed to balance on while leaning on unsuspecting Bam Bam. LOL, my boys turning into a man I guess, or just experimenting perhaps? What a little dork.

Baloo is getting older, yes I am acknowleding it, and he is not letting me forget. Playtime is more rough and tumble now and he bites harder when we are playing. I know it isnt aggression but he isnt my cuddly,bubble baby anymore (well he still is but you know, the gentler side). Also when he was younger he would just piggy squeel when I would take him away from somewhere he wanted to be, but now he squeels and pinches my hand! What a brat! It's nothing you can't tolerate, but still! I'm pretty sure Caiques are not aware of the "dont bite the hand that feeds you" saying.

I went to Texas a couple weeks ago and was gone for 5 days so the house was under Fred's rule and I was a little curious to how Bam Bam and Baloo would get along. When I came back, after  getting mauled by Bam Bam's happy butt Fred told me about something that happened that was so cute. He had his friends over one night and while Fred was in the kitchen they were playing with Baloo on the couch. After a little bit Baloo apparently started to get irritale and nipping and making his little angry squeels. One of his friends noticed he was trying to fly and was looking over at Fred, so they took him to Fred and Baloo was all whistles and lovey boo boo face again. He just missed Daddy! Fred was feeling pretty good about his little one as well as we all love to feel needed especially by our tots. We have had Baloo for about 6 months now and is always sweet to see that he recognizes us and feels safe with us. This is probable one of those small things that only we would enjoy like when parents gush over the tiniest thing their kid has done ( figured out how to open a door or something) and it is actually only that exiting to them and no one else, lol. But oh well! This is Baloo's blog and I shall write as a I see fit!:)

When did my baby get those vocal cords? I never really had a problem with Baloo screaming, I would be able to control it with some dark cage cover time but lately he was screaming right after he has eaten breakfast. It wasn't the screeching sort of yell but those loud high pitched peeps in 2-5 second intervals. Needless to say I was ready to jump out the window. I was switching out toys and ignoring him, but it really wasnt working. I thought he needed a bigger cage since I knew his cage was too small for a caique (18”w x 18 ½”d x 53”h) and he was getting older and more adventurous. So off to the store to scope out prices on used cages! I ended up leaving with a new 23"d x 32"w x 56"h cage, a little much? I decided if he lives 50 years his mortgage is $6 a year, so it really is a good deal ( efforts to try to justify a big expenditure in a not so great economy lol). So I went home, set it up, put a bunch of toys in, and voila! No more boredom! He is occupied, quiet, exploring, and loving it!

I have noticed that maybe once or twice a week Baloo gets very jittery and nervous almost like he doesnt know what he wants to do. I put him on the floor to run around but he wants to come to me, when he's on me he wants to go somewhere else but doesnt know where. He makes his little indecisive chirps and has the attention span of a 2 y old on a soda kick. Then one day while in this mood Fred took him to the bathroom so he could wash his hands and the next thing he knows Baloo jumps in the sink! A bath! after that he was fine! So now everytime he gets like this I take him to the sink and he jumps in the water, then after a blow dry hes fine! Who would have thought you could fiend for a bath?

I haven't been able to find a heating pad but have been covering Baloos cage with a thick blanket at night and i think it is helping alot as he seems to be feeling better. It was soo cute, he was on my chest when i was lying down as I was tickling him and put the sleeve of a robe on him when he just flopped on his side, eyes closed and all...I lifted the sleeve off him and his foot was still tucked in to his body and both feet were in the air, his head was rested on me and I watched him sleep for a little while. I couldnt believe how comfortable he was! I had to make sure he was alive by tickling him every once in a while, his breathing was so gentle and his little chest would move so slightly it was hard to tell if it was even moving. Its hard to imagine this little creature, that is at his core a wild being,originating from the jungle,whom if I were to ever see in his natural habitat, would never imagine him to be the boisterous and child-like little person he is, weaned by people, trusts me so much, a big monstrous flesh being ( in his eyes ), that he can lie, sleeping on me, feet up and all, without a worry in the world, and feel safe in my arms. This little bird, with this tiny heart beating in his tiny chest, sleeping on his side for that matter, on me, with his head plopped very un-bird like on my chest snoozing like a puppy...it was soo surreal somehow, as simple as it was. I was just amazed. As people I think it is easy to cast aside the animals we share the world with as being inferior to us. It is "just a bird", "just a dog", "just a stupid animal", justifying the cruelties and abuse we bestow upon them. Hopefully one day they will be seen as the beautiful, intelligent creatures that they are, feeling happiness, anger, jealousy, joy,annoyance, anxiety,trust, just like we do. Then would it be so easy to cast them aside? these were just little thoughts inspired by the little bird who slept on his side on my chest...:)

Baloo isnt feelin so hot today :( he is still eating fine and his poop is normal but he hasnt been as energetic as normal and slept on my chest today with my hand cupping him for a couple hours. And he was sneezing a bit so I think hes just a little under the weather and not used to the cold as it is his first winter. I know its So Cal but 63 degrees is cold! At least to us it is! So I went out to buy a heating pad for his cage when we arent here and at night ( times when the heater isnt on). Of course, it would be sold out so I have to use a thick blanket on half his cage for now. Hopefully he wont go into a full fledged cold. On another note, yesterday he was playing in his cage and I saw something attached to his leg. I took a closer gander and it was a thread from his plush toy that he unraveled and turned into like a wool string and got caught tightly around his leg! It was so tight we couldnt get it off with our fingers and had to carefully cut it off! What these guys get into is beyond me, if we hadnt been here he could have gotten into it alot worse and really hurt himself. Needless to say Fred doesnt think I'm just paranoid about Baloo's safety anymore!