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Post by dinucci on Jan 14, 2018 7:01:29 GMT -5
Wow close call indeed!! One of my worst fears as well..my days of climbing fences and trees are beyond me tho haha so cheers on the valiant rescue ! Would have had to break open a bottle of vino after that.
One thing I've always thought of is that since most birds are unfamiliar with their surroundings outside of the house would be the reason they get lost..think it was mentioned in one of the replies here too. I take buddy outside a lot when I'm weeding the extensive gardens I have.(made my own prison). But it gives me time with him,and thus makes the work fun..picture laughing as ya dig weeds for a while .but I dunno if he would remember all that well where he is should this happen.we have worked a lot on flight training and he has it down pretty well if not distracted. But bringing bonnie ' s cage out was a great idea too. Buddy has his t stands I made that he comes to the second I bring them out,so that would be a good rescue item for me to have in the dreaded event that it happens to me too. He seems very content in his living area and has windows on 3 sides. Also,I keep the other rooms dark which may be why he stays where he is...bright and sunny...but ya never know..buddy is slightly clipped,but can easily fly,but maybe a touch lower.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 14, 2018 18:33:35 GMT -5
Would have had to break open a bottle of vino after that. Haha, Dinucci, the first thing I did after getting home with Bonnie and returning her to the big cage was give her a pumpkin seed for being a good girl (staying put on the branch and trying to come down, even though she couldn't work it out). Then I cracked open a beer - 10:30 in the morning! - and sat for a bit with that until my legs stopped shaking.  |
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Post by PaScuba on Jan 15, 2018 2:00:53 GMT -5
Power is being restored a little at a time. It is anticipated that where my brother lives (the hills close to the pueblo Cidra) that he will have electricity by May. What's 8 months without electricity - no refrigeration, air conditioning or fans, no electric stove nor oven, just another day in the life in paradise. And that's true of most of the people who live in the central region of the island.
I still lose power a couple of times a week, but it's only out for a few minutes to a little over 8 hours. Still don't have cell service in the house, but I do in the back yard. For me, most all of the damage from the winds and flooding has been repaired. Still have electrical work that needs to be done in the house. The problem is that the electrical circuits are in the concrete floor, and once water got into it - well, I'm still waiting for it to dry out. You see it still rains here a little, most everyday. The government reports that the water is now safe to drink - but last week to passes out cases of bottled water. So if you don't have good filtration - boil the water.
I did lose Lola to the storm. With spring approaching, it's a tough decision whether or not to get another baby. My wife really doesn't like the morning calls - you know, saying hi to the Puerto Rican Parrots that fly over the house on their way West. And of course, she hates the mess, molting feathers, little white down feathers blowing into the house and sticking to everything. To hear her talk - you'd think that I had a large flock of QP's. We do still have Cookie, american cocker spaniel. Although she did have to swim to the neighbors house the night of the flood.
We thank everyone for prayers, good wishes, etc. Despite what Trump says, Puerto Rico is not "everything's fine" and "you don't need flashlights, you have electricity" But I won't get on that soap box.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 15, 2018 2:42:34 GMT -5
Wow, PaScuba, you are really in the wars! It makes me realise how lucky we are in Australia not to have too many extreme weather events. We take things like electricity and water for granted here (most of the time). I am really sorry you lost Lola. You should talk it over with your wife and hopefully if you really want another baby, she'll agree (after all, you know each other well and what makes you happy). Best wishes. XX0XX
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Post by dinucci on Jan 15, 2018 3:44:48 GMT -5
PaScuba..sorry to hear you lost your friend..never easy to replace what's in your heart. I went to a bird fair, a monthly event in a suburb northwest chicago. It is the same fair I bought buddy from and the same folks are there every month. This time tho,there were more quakers there than ever,and lots of different ones (colors )to choose ands well. Green pallid like mine, a few blues,white/ pearl, and one that was black and grey ! 700 bucks for him and worth it. Beautiful bird..they had a kahkai green too..many more varieties coming to these events. At the time I bought mine,he was the only quaker there and wasn't quite ready to go home..had to wait a couple weeks.
Thru reading I found a site that lists a bunch of different color mutations to the degree that ya have to really look to see that they are quakers ! Wild colors,and some are very pricy..to the tune of 15k USD. If you Google " quaker parrot mutations", the site comes up. It's in a different language. .not sure but looks Bulgarian possibly. Check it out if ya gotta chance sometime. Do you have bird fairs in Puerto Rico? This monthly fair has only small hobbyist breeders and all are hand fed...some rescue birds too.
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Post by easttex on Jan 15, 2018 5:53:56 GMT -5
I knew the reports from the administration were, shall we say with all the tact and diplomacy we can muster, a little on the rosy side.
I'm very sorry to read about Lola. I've been thinking lately about adopting another Quaker, but my husband, in spite of not being a "bird person", took Peppy's death hard. It's time to talk about it, but in the end I have to respect his wishes.
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Post by cnyguy on Jan 15, 2018 20:06:09 GMT -5
So sorry that you lost Lola. I may like to complain about the snow and cold we experience in central New York State, but it's nothing compared with what you went through in Puerto Rico, or the storms that hit places like Florida and Texas last year.
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Post by PaScuba on Jan 16, 2018 1:26:44 GMT -5
Thanks guys for your kind words. We don't have breeders fairs here like in the states. I remember them in San Antonio and Austin Texas. What was good about those fairs, is that most of the babies are, at the least, partly hand fed as well. The breeders knew about the birds - unlike here, they breed them in chicken wire cages, and start to sell them very young. The first QP I bought here - the breeder said the chick was 7 weeks old. But when I picked her up - she couldn't have been more the 5 or 6 days old. I don't have any problem with feeding - even every two hours to begin with. Lucia even took her to work with her because she was wanting food every 2.5 - 3 hours. I was on a business trip to the US. Once when Lucia's boss came into her office and heard the baby chirps, she told him that it was a ring tone on her phone. He never found out, but everyone else in the office and all the vendor's who came to her office knew.
The other thing that I dislike here is that breeders don't band the chicks. You could be buying a baby from a captured bird. These babies, sometimes, are a little more - well, let's say quaker like. Really wild and independent. Not to say they can't be trained and can become very good pets, it's just that I wouldn't let one on my shoulder nor walk around my stomach nor feet. It seems that they will bite more and harder. Their fear response if very strong. I have to agree that generations of domesticated breeding has instilled a more docile and also more willing to accept you as a member of the flock. Not just some bird eating monster predator.
We are going to the states to visit the grand kids in March - so maybe I might get one there, if I can get all of the vet paperwork in order to get the fid on the plane back. I'll just have to wait and see.
Again, thanks for you kind words.
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