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Post by cnyguy on Dec 3, 2014 22:44:04 GMT -5
Now that my back is somewhat better, I'm able to get Ralph out of his cage for his usual after dinner playtime. Tonight when we went into the kitchen, I picked up a plastic container with two stale donut holes inside. Disposing of it is one of the many household chores I've neglected because of my troublesome back. So I thought I'd dump the stale donut holes into the garbage pail, and put the container in the recycling bin. But when I picked the container up, the donut holes (almost the consistency of golf balls  ) rattled around. Ralph liked that and bobbed his head in approval. So I spent the next fifteen minutes shaking the container to rattle the donut holes around. At that point, Ralph's attention was diverted to the bowl of popcorn and we went over so he could help himself to some.  |
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Post by ilovelucy on Dec 3, 2014 23:28:53 GMT -5
So glad you're feeling bette! Who says our fuss need expensive toys - cheap entertainment!
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Post by biteybird on Dec 4, 2014 2:25:21 GMT -5
So I spent the next fifteen minutes shaking the container to rattle the donut holes around. At that point, Ralph's attention was diverted to the bowl of popcorn and we went over so he could help himself to some. Hi Gary, glad you're 'functional' again (I know how painful a bad back can be....thanks, Australian Army  !). Yep, ilovelucy is right, the best toys aren't necessarily toys at all. Bonnie's favourite toy/game is to get inside an empty chip packet (the shiny foil ones). She goes right into the empty chip bag and screeches with delight!
It sounds like Ralph hasn't held a grudge...lucky for you! 
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Post by siobhan on Dec 4, 2014 14:55:28 GMT -5
Amazing how we order our days to see to the comfort of the fids, isn't it? We choose clothes that please them (no sweaters around birds; might snag toenails) and when they want us to amuse them, we do. We buy food with them in mind and I spend more time worrying about and working on their warmth and comfort than I do my own.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Dec 4, 2014 16:04:51 GMT -5
Glad your back is better. Shah's favourite toy is Pippin and he goes to extraordinary lengths to try and grab Pippin's tail. If he does, he thinks it is the most wonderful thing in the world. Then, of course, he spends a good part of his day screaming out Pippin's name. Drives poor Pippin crazy.
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Post by cnyguy on Dec 4, 2014 21:29:27 GMT -5
I guess the stale donut holes weren't quite as fascinating tonight; we only spent five minutes rattling them around in their container, then we had to go over to the cabinet to see what's in the top drawer.  I had to show Ralph that "his" stainless steel spoon is still in there. Further proof of how we indulge our parrots, giving one his own personal teaspoon.  Ralph has much more fun with things that aren't supposed to be parrot toys. The new toy I gave him back in October for his hatchday has been pretty much ignored-- he much prefers pulling spoons out of the dishwasher. |
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Post by siobhan on Dec 5, 2014 0:24:54 GMT -5
I'm not allowed to wear my new glasses or my contact lenses around Clyde. He likes the old glasses, so I wear those. He did let me clean out Hal's fish tank tonight (Hal died overnight and I'm giving his tank to a friend) even though picking out approximately a million tiny snails and transferring them to the other two tanks took FOREVER. He flew over to supervise a couple of times but mostly he let me work unhindered, which is very unusual.
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Post by biteybird on Dec 5, 2014 2:57:49 GMT -5
I had to show Ralph that "his" stainless steel spoon is still in there. Further proof of how we indulge our parrots, giving one his own personal teaspoon. Maybe Ralph is ready to progress to a personalised silver eggcup or pewter mug? |
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Post by biteybird on Dec 5, 2014 3:03:40 GMT -5
I'm not allowed to wear my new glasses or my contact lenses around Clyde. He likes the old glasses, so I wear those. Sorry about Hal....
Today I had a Band-Aid on my right index finger (BECAUSE of Bonnie, I might add...she nipped me on an existing minor cut). Well, I put my finger out for her to step up and she went crazy, doing the whole flapping-bobbing-pecking thing and went flying up to her wall ledge retreat, squawking with each flap of her infernal little wings.
It was my fault, of course, as I hadn't shown the Band-Aid to her in advance and asked permission to wear it. 
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Post by siobhan on Dec 5, 2014 14:16:19 GMT -5
Next time you will know better. Shame on you. LOL You should have seen how Jade reacted each time I passed her cage with something from the fish tank. A bucket to empty it into. "AAACK!!!! SQUAWK! WHATCHDOINWHATCHADOINWHATCADOIN!" Sigh. It's a bucket, Jade. You see it every week when Mama cleans fish tanks. It is not a parrot-eating monster. Walk past with the siphon. Jade, Clyde AND Benjy (who does everything Clyde does) "SQUAWWWWWWWK!!!!" and fly to the very top of the boing. I'm picking out snails and talking to the snails and to the birds, who have plenty of advice to proffer ("What IS the point?" Jade demanded when I complained aloud that the snails were far more numerous than I had imagined and were not cooperating about leaving the tank). When I told her snails are people, too, and I had to move them to a different tank, she said, "THANK you" (imagine a teenage girl's tone when she's being her most sarcastic). Maggie flew over to land on me and remind me I had not yet filled her (full) food dish and I swore I'd get to her but had to take care of the tank first, and Jade muttered something that sounded very much like naughty language, but when I asked her to repeat it, said in her sweetest voice, "Jade a GOOD girl!" Good girls, I told her, do not grab their brothers by the wing and shake him as she did to Johnny the night before.
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Post by cnyguy on Dec 5, 2014 23:03:40 GMT -5
Pulling tails wasn't exciting enough for Jade, so she's switched to wings? Poor Johnny. I think the teaspoon is satisfactory to Ralph, for now anyway. It's one that doesn't match any of my other flatware; I have no idea where it came from. He has that to play with, and the two clean bowls I have to leave in the dishwasher. He likes to pull the plastic one out and drop it on the floor, and he likes the ringing sound the Corelle glass bowl makes when he taps it with his beak. |
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Post by ilovelucy on Dec 6, 2014 0:05:00 GMT -5
Siobhan-I had a visual of Jade rolling her eyes as teenagers do while she was giving you attitude. My daughter is married and has a step son AND I STILL GET THE EYE ROLL FROM HER.
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Post by siobhan on Dec 6, 2014 0:30:46 GMT -5
I don't think Jade went for the wing because tails aren't exciting enough. Because of the position he was in when she grabbed at him, the wing was closest. LOL
I have two plastic tumblers with straws and lids that I drink my Dew out of. One is green and one is pink. Clyde hates the pink one and that little bird is strong enough to shove that tumbler aside, full of ice and Dew, when I try to drink out of it. He doesn't mind if I drink out of the green one. I wonder if I gave him a spoon if he'd be more cooperative about my Dew addiction. How did Ralph decide that spoon belongs to him?
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Post by biteybird on Dec 6, 2014 3:49:54 GMT -5
...the two clean bowls I have to leave in the dishwasher. He likes to pull the plastic one out and drop it on the floor, and he likes the ringing sound the Corelle glass bowl makes when he taps it with his beak. Obviously you need to buy Ralph his OWN dishwasher to fill with his OWN cutlery and dishes. How insensitive of you to make him share! |
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Post by cnyguy on Dec 6, 2014 22:58:25 GMT -5
So, it was just a matter of Jade seizing the opportunity and grabbing the closest available feathers. Ralph got that particular teaspoon 'cause it happened to be the last one left in the silverware drawer one day, and since then, it's been Ralph's personal spoon. I rarely used it 'cause it has a shorter than average handle and is awkward to grip. He'll just as happily play with the ones from my everday set, and likes pulling them out of the basket in the dishwasher before I put them away after washing them. Sometimes they get dropped on the floor and need to go back in to be washed again. If the undersized kitchen in this apartment would accommodate a second dishwasher, I'd consider giving Ralph one of his own. I think fairly soon we'll be needing to get a new one, and I'm wondering how Ralph will react to that. He accepted the new range last December, but the old one never interested him anyway. He does like the squeak that the oven door makes on the new one, and has learned to imitate it. |
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) rattled around. Ralph liked that and bobbed his head in approval. So I spent the next fifteen minutes shaking the container to rattle the donut holes around. At that point, Ralph's attention was diverted to the bowl of popcorn and we went over so he could help himself to some. 
!). Yep, ilovelucy is right, the best toys aren't necessarily toys at all. Bonnie's favourite toy/game is to get inside an empty chip packet (the shiny foil ones). She goes right into the empty chip bag and screeches with delight!
I had to show Ralph that "his" stainless steel spoon is still in there. Further proof of how we indulge our parrots, giving one his own personal teaspoon. 
