Many must have read about Kermit’s visit to the vet last Saturday. Thanks to everyone for your concerns about Kermit’s condition. He’s doing perfectly well and I’m confident that his current condition will improve.

Although Kermit is still undergoing medication, he still remain active and positive. Everyday seems like a new day of adventure and he is full of surprises.

Indeed, he did surprise me again yesterday with his new mischievous act.

Notice the blue and yellow colored rings on the playstand in the picture (By the way can you spot Kiki in the picture?) on the left?

Those are actually meant to be foot toys for Kermit and Kiki. Apparently, Kermit had devised a new way of playing them. I truly adore his innovation of “Play Hard 101″. So for now, let me unveil Kermit’s new innovating way of playing the toys rings - “Splash-O-Slam Dunk”.

It’s Kermit’s own verse of Slam Dunk - removing the rings and dunk them in the water bowl. It’s fun watching him doing it and he enjoys doing it, but hard on me! He created a whole lot mess and splashes around the playstand!

Today I brought Kermit over to the vet for consultation. Don’t worry folks, Kermit is alright and he is not seriously ill.

Just that I noticed some slight symptoms on Kermit which I found disturbing, thus I decided not to wait and bring him over to the vet immediately.

Kermit seems to be having bad breathes lately and having protruding breast bone. I can feel the keel is sharp. These are not good signs.

Bad breathes can be a sign of Yeast Infection also known as Candida, and this is what I fear most as candida is contagious and can be spread to other birds that get in contact with Kermit.

Next, the issue on protruding breast bone simply signifies that Kermit can be severely underweight. I’ve a kitchen scale and I do regularly keep weight records of Kermit. Kermit weighs an average weight of 130 grams and this indicates that Kermit is of an acceptable weight.

Based on Parrot Average Weight Chart provided on Avianweb.com, a healthy Senegal weighs around 110 -130 grams. I’m totally clueless about Kermit’s protruding breast bone when he falls in between the acceptable weight range.

I brought Kermit to Dr Kenneth Tong from Animal & Avian Veterinary Clinic located at Yishun Street 71, Singapore. It’s my first visit to the Animal & Avian Veterinary Clinic, but I’m really impressed with Dr Kenneth and his team’s friendliness and professionalism.

Back about Kermit’s check-up, Dr Kenneth did a few Q&A with me to find out more details and situation of Kermit. First, he did a weight test for Kermit, apparently Kermit weighs 130 grams. Kermit indeed seems fine from the readings on the weighing scale, but the protruding breast bone did drew Dr Kenneth’s attention. Dr Kenneth observed the feces samples, appearing that Kermit’s poops are okay without any abnormalities.

As for the issue on bad breath, Dr Kenneth did a close examination in within the beak. He noticed some mild discharge appear in within, but he added that it’s actually a small issue and not to be too worry of.

After several examinations and tests, Dr Kenneth indicated that Kermit seems to be alright and he’s also totally clueless about the protruding breast bone (weight loss) issue. He added it might be the result of stress, as Kermit is undergoing his first molting.

Kermit was provided with Multi-vitamins and Antibiotics to assist him in improving his current physical condition. In three weeks time, Kermit will be coming back for a medical review before making any diagnosis and treatment if his condition doesn’t improve.

Let’s pray and hope Kermit’s condition will gradually improve!

During this evening, I was lucky to capture a funny video of Kermit. He never fails to make people laugh at his silly acts.

Lately I just bought Kermit a toy ball. I took nearly a week for him completely get use to it and not fear of it. This evening, I was lured by ear-splitting rings from the toy ball and I decided to take a look at what Kermit was messing about.

For a moment, he was lying on his back enjoying and playing with the ball. He did look like a seal juggling with a ball at that moment. Few minutes later, I saw him tossing madly and forcing the toy ball out of his territory.

So is that Love or Hate? Perhaps you shall be the judge.

I’m sure you have notice the web URL stated on the subject title, and notice the little change I’ve done to the blog header image.

Yes! I’ve ported in this new domain name, so reader you visit Bryan’s Angels at http://www.bryansangels.net from today onwards. For those who have already done a bookmark with the old URL: http://bryansangels.ohitsuji.com, you’ve need not worry or make the admendment to the new link. You’re still able to access to Bryan’s Angels at http://bryansangels.ohitsuji.com, the old permalinks will still be able to work redirecting you to the right posting.

In fact for the past few months, I’ve been thinking to add in a new domain name for Bryan’s Angels. A few of readers have feedback to me about their difficulty in remembering the previous subdomain. I understand that the previous subdomain was rather long and the word OHITSUJI was not easy to spell and remember by most readers.

Thus I’ve decided in the adding the new domain name: http://www.bryansangels.net to the blog. I’m sure with the new domain name, it will provide better convenience to most readers.

Anyway I have to show my appreciation to my new web host, Limebox Hosting Solution. It has been a pleasant experience with them. They have provide excellent customer service support, and they indeed help me a lot in answering all my doubts.

If any one of you are looking for a web host or thinking to change to new web host, why not consider Limebox Hosting Solution? They definitely will make your website stand out from the rest!

Boredom is always the number one factor contributing to most parrot behavior problems. Providing parrots with lots of toys is one way to fight boredom. Like most parrot trainers and owners always like to say, “A busy bird is a happy bird!”

I totally agree with the saying. Just imagine you are trapped in your bedroom with nothing else to do, no other items around to keep you entertained. Definitely you will be bored stiff and want to get out. Parrots are like humans, they need mental stimulant like toys to keep them entertained.

One of the biggest complaints from parrot owners are that parrot toys and accessories are expensive and many feel that it’s not worth buying them. Well I totally agree that these toys are expensive, but toys are necessities. It’s worth investment to keep parrots busy and happy, it’s one solution to prevent behavior problems.

Seriously you don’t really need to buy fancy toys just to keep your parrot happy. You can make them out of any household items. It’s economical and parrots love them too!

In Singapore, it’s hard to get hold of any parrot toys in the local pet stores. Limited choice and pricey. Thus I usually ended up making my own parrot toys and parrot accessories. I’ve said early on that household items are can be ideal parrots toys. Items like wooden cork, empty paper towel roller and empty cereal boxes can be parrots’ shreddable toys; Items like cotton rope or twines can be used to make preening toys. Whereas colorful bottles caps and big buttons can be parrots’ foot toys.

Both of my angels, Kiki and Kermit love these household “toys”. They provide so much entertainment just like the fancy toys bought in the pet stores. Looking at them enjoying themselves so much, I’ve also feel happy and accomplished.

Few Tips for selecting household items as toys:

• Ensure items are make non-toxic materials.
• Ensure shreddable items to be either paper or non-toxic natural wood.
• Do check for sharp cutting ends (can be easily trimmed with a baby nail cutter) on the bottle caps before offering to your parrot.
• Ensure items are not too small (especially for buttons or beads) to be swallowed by the parrot.
• Wash any wooden or plastic items with light detergent and dry them before use.

With little bit research and time spent, you can turn any common household items into a fun and enjoyable parrot toys. Furthermore it gave a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Have fun!

Weather has been bad lately. Either it can goes as hot and humid than usual or rainy and wet throughout the whole day.

The big phenomenon in the climate does bring some worries whether Kermit and Kiki can really handle the change.

Yesterday was just another hot and sunny afternoon. Kiki will just perch on the playstand enjoying her usual day meal while I’m working on project and returning email from my work desk nearby.

About 45 minutes later, I noticed a complete silence in the activity room. Surprisingly, I spotted Kiki tugging in and napping on the crock cup. I tried to capture at that very moment, but apparently the “clicking” sound from the camera had woke Kiki up accidentally. I felt really apologetic for causing the disturbance.

Talking about bird sleep, I’m sure almost all bird owners have noticed that birds are very sensitive to surrounding even they asleep. The slightest sound or movement of the surroundings can alarm and work them up immediately. The interesting part, birds don’t really close both eyes during sleep. I noticed Kermit and Kiki while napping they tend to open their eyes on one side, perhaps to maintain vigilant to watch out for any dangers.

Guess it’s just their natural instincts!

Related Post:
To Cover or Not to Cover?

Previously I wrote about ethoxyquin found on some of the commercial seed mixes that can posed dangers to parrots’ health. Although there are some commercial seed mixes are free from ethoxyquin, naturally preserved and truly organic, but they still have one thing in common that I hated most.

Sunflower Seeds! Well not the sunflower seeds that rose the hatred but just that commercial seed mixes are flooded with too many sunflower seeds. The picture of the big pack of sunflower seeds, are actually sunflower seeds extracted from 1.5kg of quality commercial seed mixes and I stored them in Zip-lock bags as treats for future training purposes.

Reasonably amount of sunflower seeds can be healthy in providing the required vitamin E and fatty acids that are essential to parrots. Anything that are excessive or too much can be unhealthy. We all know that parrots are programmed to love seeds especially SUNFLOWER seeds. Parrots just “worship” them.

Whenever sunflower seeds are abundant, parrots have the tendency to be engrossed, enjoying sunflower seeds and ignoring other healthy grains. In fact, they will be just too full (crop totally filled up by sunflower seeds) and lazy to try other foods. This can be one reason why most parrots are overweight or malnutrition. In the long run, this can be a potential health hazard.

In fact I’m planning to prepare my own seed mixes. This way I have to the option to restrict the amount of sunflower seeds or safflower seeds, creating a healthier seed mixes. It can be lots of work, but I think it’s worth investing the time and money. It can be cost effective in a way as I won’t have to throw away the excess sunflower seeds anymore. Furthermore, I won’t have to spend time extracting out the excess sunflower seeds.

Back to the basics again. This round no fancy props, but common empty paper towel roller that can be found in almost every household. So what Kiki going to perform this time with the empty roller?

Just like what the title says, it’s her own Tunnel Trick. A relatively simple trick, but interesting and fun trick that able to kill any boredom and motivating her to continue to learn new things.

Kiki mastered this trick within minutes. She had no difficulty in understanding and performing the trick, because she had did something similar before. Remembering the hoop trick that I shared with everyone on my previous posting. Both are actually the same, the only difference is the prop. The hoop trick is with a metal wire hoop whereas the current Tunnel trick is with the empty paper towel roller.

When I was updating Kiki’s trick list, I found something shocking and surprising. With Kiki mastering this trick, I can humbly highlight that she has mastered a total of 17 tricks and commands. Impressive? I guess it can definitely be an alarming figure for a small parrot like Kiki.

Thus a pea-brained is not necessary stupid. The size of the parrot not necessarily denote the intelligence and the ability of the parrot after all.

Related Post:
Kiki’s Through The Hoop Trick

Lately I’ve been receiving email asking for my opinion on which parrot is better and quiet, because they are impressed with the abilities these parrots can do, furthermore having a parrot is so entertaining and fun.

True, I do admit that parrots are really cute and fun companions. Many people only see the positive state of parrots but they failed to see the negative state of parrots. They failed to understand that parrots aren’t domestic pets like dogs or cats. Even parrots that are captive bred, hand-fed by humans still have their own wild instincts within their blood. There are time these cute fellows can go cranky or even turning to real devil which turned the whole house upside down.

It’s pretty sad whenever I read articles of parrots had been abandoned, re-homed or even sold away just because their owners don’t love them anymore. Just because they screamed, go cranky and totally out of control. It’s really heart-breaking.

Why do parrots have to stuck in these scenarios and going through these pains? In fact, the owners are to be blamed for bringing their parrots into these scenarios. Only if they had made serious considerations, understanding and accepting the possible problems of the parrots, these scenarios can be prevented.

Thus I decided to write this post to highlight the key considerations to take note to assist new and future parrot owners in making a wise decision rather than stranded in painful scenarios of abandoning, rehoming or selling the parrots away.

Accept these facts:

1. Noise
   Parrots are flock animals, they vocalize everyday. So don’t expect them to be as quiet as an aquarium fish. Some species vocalize a lot when the sun rise and set. Are you able to withstand with the extra noise in your household? Sorry to say this, there isn’t any quiet parrot in this globe. Seriously if you are still looking for one, get a stuff toy instead.
2. Mess
   Parrots are messy-eaters and their feathers and powder feathers (especially parrots like greys, cockatiels and cockatoos are dusty birds) contribute to the extra dust in your household. Extra mess means extra work in cleaning. Do mind the “little” extra mess in your household?
3. Time
   Since parrots are flock animals, they love attentions from their owners. Are you able to commit to 1-2 hours daily of quality time spent with your parrot? Are able to commit the extra hours for preparing meals for your parrot and the daily/weekly cleaning routines?
4. Space
   Macaws and other big parrots need very big cages. Even a smaller species like Senegal need at least 20 x 20 inch base size cage. Do have the extra space for your parrot?
5. Money
   Many tends to have a misconception that parrots are low maintenance pets. That’s totally untrue. Expenses on food, cages, toys, accessories and visit to the vet, all this need money and I guaranteed to you none of the items are cheap. A good and durable powder-coated or wrought iron cages can cost from 80-200SGD (Singapore Dollars) onwards and a visit to the vet can cost you from 70SGD onwards. Do plan and draft out your expenses. whether the extra hundred over dollars
6. Demanding
   Since parrots are flock animals, they love attentions from their owners. There are times even when you are busy they will call for your attention. Are you able to answer to their needs and calls?
7. Maturity*
   Baby parrots tends to be cute, well-behaved and most important “relatively quiet”. Sweet moments don’t always last forever. Behavior Problems like screaming and biting start to surface once parrot start to reach their sexual maturity at around 1-2 years old depending on species. Are you able to accept it when your parrot is no longer an angel but a devil?

Selecting the right species for your home:

Next getting the right species is definitely important too. Many people tend to fall in love by the affectionate and cuddliness of a cockatoo and the majestic appearance of a macaw, but they failed to understand that cockatoos and macaws are very noisy birds. They do scream and vocalize loudly throughout the day and you have to accept this. It’s already “pre-programmed” within the genes, you have to accept it. If not, best is look for other species.

There are other parrots that are labeled as noisy birds like Indian Ringnecks and Conures. Both species chatters a lot throughout the day, it’s their characteristic. Thus don’t expect this birds to be low in noise.

If noise can be a factor like me, I personally live in an apartments and the units are close built together thus loud noise can easily travel through the walls. Thus opted on “relatively quiet” species like lovebird and the Senegal Parrot. There are other “quieter” parrots like African Greys and Parrotlets. Do take note why I quoted the word quiet. As I mentioned earlier on, all parrot make noise there no such parrot in this world that is completely mute.

Why do people labeled Senegal Parrots and Greys as “quieter” parrots even they make noise? It’s because they rarely vocalize throughout the day (usually quiet like Kermit, my senegal parrot can be really quiet throughout the morning and afternoon without uttering a single beep) and they don’t really scream like macaws or cockatoos. Thus recommended for apartment dwellers. But do take note, the household environment do contribute to the noise level of the parrot. A noisy household will lead to a noisy parrot!

Final Words:

Having a parrot at household definitely will change your lifestyle completely, and parrots have longer lifespan than any other pets, this means you have to live with the current situation for the next 10 years or more. So asked yourself, are ready for the change?

So to conclude, take your time to do ample research, planning and careful considerations on the possible problems ahead. Taking these necessary steps can prevent you ending up scenarios of abandoning, re-homing and selling your parrot away.

Ever thought why your parrots stoned at times? To my knowledge and experiences, parrot stoned when they were alarmed (e.g. other noise or any other threats) or even out of fear.

During the late afternoon when I was in the kitchen doing some household cleaning and leaving Kermit on his playstand. It’s an unusual afternoon, usually Kermit will established contact calls with me whenever I’m out of sight. Strangly enough he was totally quiet. I tried initiating a contact call by whistling to Kermit, he didn’t response any of my calls. I didn’t feel quite comfortable about this, thus I went to the living room to check whether Kermit was alright.

Kermit was on the play-stand but he looked really stoned. He was completely stoned with a pine nut shell in his beak and not doing anything. I observed the surroundings whether there’s any things, wild birds or insects that triggered him to going to this state. Apparently there wasn’t! This went on for nearly 15 minutes, I immediately reached for my camera phone to capture this rare moment.

I’m still wondering whether was there really things that caught his attention which resulted him to stone, or was he really indulging to the classical music that I played in the background?

I think only he has the answers to the questions.