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Hello!
Nov 5, 2015 18:09:55 GMT -5
Post by wsteinhoff on Nov 5, 2015 18:09:55 GMT -5
Hi! I have read this forum for some time and decided I might as well finally sign up to join. I am 18; currently living with a 9 year old blue quaker named Bishop whom I've had the pleasure to share my life with for the past 5 years. He currently shares a room with and enjoys playing with an 8 month old pigeon named Skye and a 1 and a half year old rescued house sparrow named Casey. I also breed lots of rarer breeds of pigeon and have had other birds in the past but none of them being parrots. Bishop is a smart but stubborn little quaker who has had a rough life, bouncing around between 4 different owners for his first 4 years and in his previous home not getting enough attention being in a house with many other parrots. I was given him for my 13th birthday after losing the bearded dragon (a type of lizard) that I had for 9 years thinking a parrot would be an interesting bird to live with without realizing what it took to care for one. After I was looking at getting a baby conure my dad searched Craigslist for a less expensive bird and saw an ad for Bishop. He isn't very talkative or playful, mostly only wanting to play with the bell that came with him, but hes still friendly (most of the time) and loving. I have always loved animals but never really cared much for the birds but it was mostly because of him birds have become my life. I have spent the years since then studying them, their behaviors, their different individual personalities, training methods, their interactions with each other and their environment, trying to learn as much as I possibly can. They have helped me get through some tough times in my life. I am a lover of science, specifically biology and animal sciences, and am an amateur nature and landscape photographer with the hopes to someday become a professional or at least semi-professional. I spent a lot of time studying herbs and their many medicinal properties and enjoy growing them and using them. I also love to cook and have been told I should become a pastry chef. Anyways, thats my introduction, I'm glad to have finally joined this forum and hope to be able to chat with you other fellow quaker parents.
-Will
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Post by cnyguy on Nov 5, 2015 21:11:40 GMT -5
Welcome to you and Bishop and all your flockmates!  It sounds like you have an interesting life and lots of varied interests. I like growing herbs too, and maintain an herb garden at the apartment complex where I live. Your talent at making pastries is something you can enjoy all your life (and share with others), whether or not you choose to make it a career. |
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Post by biteybird on Nov 6, 2015 3:58:41 GMT -5
Hello Will and Bishop, also other birdies! Welcome to the forum. It sounds as though you love learning in general and you have an exciting life and career path ahead of you. We hope you continue to enjoy reading everyone's contributions here. |
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Post by aaron on Nov 6, 2015 13:50:48 GMT -5
Greetings Will and Bishop! Welcome to the forum! Birds are really incredible, aren't they? Bringing Cupcake into our lives has turned everyone in the household into life-long bird lovers. As you implied, it takes a lot to care for these little ones properly... but it is so worth it. You sound like you've got quite a set of interests, and you've certainly come to the right place if you want to talk Quakers  Welcome aboard! |
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Post by julianna on Nov 7, 2015 14:04:01 GMT -5
Howdy Doody Will and Bishop. I am sure you are going to find having a Quaker is like having a variety of animals as they can be a sweet and purr like a kitten or bite like a hawk or even shake a paw like a dog. I love my Quaker named Oscar and hopefully today he will be a sweet cuddly kitten but I doubt it. He is already being demanding today and wants me to bring him to his drawer of face cloths (which I call his condo lol).
Too bad Bishop had to go through so many homes but hey.... you got him now and hopefully it will be his last and happiest home.
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Hello!
Nov 7, 2015 21:02:10 GMT -5
via mobile
aaron likes this
Post by wsteinhoff on Nov 7, 2015 21:02:10 GMT -5
Thank you all for the welcomes. cnyguy: herbs are a great thing to know for more than just spices. They have many healthful and medicinal properties. If you are interested in those properties of herbs I actually just created a lotion that treats my eczema better than all the non-steroid creams I've tried that uses the common weed but also herb stinging nettle in it which actually seems to help with dry skin than calendula which is widely known for its skin healing properties and gentleness on the skin. I do sort of use my baking as my income currently but I don't plan for it to be a career. At the farmers market my mother and I do I've become known for my unique cinnamon rolls that I regularly get repeating customers for every market weekend. biteybird: Yes I do love to learn as long as it does not involve math haha. I do plan to continue enjoying reading this forum. aaron: You're right it is totally worth it. They are amazing and intelligent animals that unfortunately many people wouldn't even think of when talking about animal intelligence. julianna: I'm not new to quakers I've had him for 5 years but it is only until recently that my family and I realized how much it actually took to care for a parrot. It isn't like even other birds like the pigeons I breed and sparrows I rescue. I've now completely turned around how I care for him though and hope the somewhat poor care he's gotten, which is mainly diet and inadequate amounts of attention, hasn't shortened his lifespan too much. I'm just worried the fatty all seed diet he's had for his 9 years is going to eventually catch up to him and give him liver problems. Even his previous owners gave him all seed. I have been giving him aloe juice though to clean out his liver and the rest of his digesting system since it's supposed to be safe and treat present liver problems. I've actually even been drinking it myself because even though it is absolutely disgusting in taste it has a long list of health benefits if you get the kind that contains only the inner gel because whole aloe leaves contain aloin which works as a laxative that is somewhat toxic. |
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Hello!
Nov 7, 2015 23:06:41 GMT -5
Post by cnyguy on Nov 7, 2015 23:06:41 GMT -5
I grow mostly cooking herbs in my herb garden, in part for other residents of the apartment complex to be able to use. I have a few that simply look good, to please the owner of the complex.  And there are some in there that do have useful medicinal properties. I've used the leaves of my Monarda plants to ease the pain and itching of bee stings (another name for this plant is Bee Balm-- and it does actually work). One resident regularly picks Echinacea leaves to dry for an herbal tea. A few years ago, I had a talk with a Native American herbalist, who had lots of interesting information on herbal remedies. As you probably already know, milk thistle is also recommended to maintain liver health in parrots. |
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Hello!
Nov 8, 2015 7:16:33 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by wsteinhoff on Nov 8, 2015 7:16:33 GMT -5
I grow mostly cooking herbs in my herb garden, in part for other residents of the apartment complex to be able to use. I have a few that simply look good, to please the owner of the complex. And there are some in there that do have useful medicinal properties. I've used the leaves of my Monarda plants to ease the pain and itching of bee stings (another name for this plant is Bee Balm-- and it does actually work). One resident regularly picks Echinacea leaves to dry for an herbal tea. A few years ago, I had a talk with a Native American herbalist, who had lots of interesting information on herbal remedies. As you probably already know, milk thistle is also recommended to maintain liver health in parrots. Another plant that you could probably use on bee stings away from the garden with bee balm is plantain which is a weed that grows litterally everywhere and is also a healing herb. Chew up the leaf to get the juices moving in it and stick it on the wound. I'm sure you have basil in your garden, that can also heal stings while reducing the inflammation of it and it has antibacterial properties to protect the wound. Actually I did not know that birds could use milk thistle for liver health, there's many herbs I've used but that is one I haven't and will have to look into now. |
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Hello!
Nov 11, 2015 19:29:04 GMT -5
Post by bruce on Nov 11, 2015 19:29:04 GMT -5
Hello Will and Bishop. I myself inherited a QP (Chuckie) who adopted my Mother 20 years ago. He is the first ever companion animal for me. Thank you for sharing your life with such an interesting group of feathered friends.
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 14:30:15 GMT -5
Post by julianna on Nov 12, 2015 14:30:15 GMT -5
The blues on Bishop are absolutely beautiful.
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 15:03:31 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Nov 12, 2015 15:03:31 GMT -5
Yes, that photo in your (wsteinhoff) avatar looks stunning. I'd love to see a bigger version.
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 20:37:25 GMT -5
Post by cnyguy on Nov 12, 2015 20:37:25 GMT -5
Yes, that photo in your (wsteinhoff) avatar looks stunning. I'd love to see a bigger version. It would be a nice addition to the Forum banner too. |
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 20:57:19 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Nov 12, 2015 20:57:19 GMT -5
Yes, that photo in your (wsteinhoff) avatar looks stunning. I'd love to see a bigger version. It would be a nice addition to the Forum banner too. I agree! If I can get a larger version of the photo I can certainly provide a new version of the banner. |
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 22:20:58 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by wsteinhoff on Nov 12, 2015 22:20:58 GMT -5
I actually don't like it that much. His head is a little blurred because I didn't bother to use a smaller aperture on my lens to control the depth of field.
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Hello!
Nov 12, 2015 23:24:16 GMT -5
Post by aaron on Nov 12, 2015 23:24:16 GMT -5
I guess it's hard to tell that the head is blurred from the avatar. Looks pretty good to me though.
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It sounds like you have an interesting life and lots of varied interests. I like growing herbs too, and maintain an herb garden at the apartment complex where I live. Your talent at making pastries is something you can enjoy all your life (and share with others), whether or not you choose to make it a career. 
Welcome aboard!
And there are some in there that do have useful medicinal properties. I've used the leaves of my Monarda plants to ease the pain and itching of bee stings (another name for this plant is Bee Balm-- and it does actually work). One resident regularly picks Echinacea leaves to dry for an herbal tea. A few years ago, I had a talk with a Native American herbalist, who had lots of interesting information on herbal remedies. 
