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Well after having our first chick of 2010 hatch it was followed 2 days later by a 2nd chick for Ant and Makosi, mum and chicks are doing really well and Dad is popping in to help feed them too and looking after mum.
We have also had Nelson and Winnie’s first chick of 2010 hatch on Thursday and baby is doing really well, so looks like this year has just got off to a good start even though we are half way through the year!!
I will update with some photos tomorrow 
Well today we have had our first Grey Chick hatch of 2010.
Ant and Makosi have hatched one of three eggs so two more to go fingers crossed!
Here is a photo of proud Mummy and Daddy and the little chick.
A chatty pet parrot is recovering from his brush with death after ending up in the lions enclosure at Longleat Safari Park near Warminster.
Lalji, a nine-year-old African grey parrot, was reunited with his distraught owner Pie Chambers, after escaping from a cage in the garden of her home in Corsley.
After three days on the run, Lalji, who knows more than 500 words and phrases, found himself four miles from home, in an enclosure with Longleat’s pride of lions, sparking a rescue mission by keepers.
Ms Chambers, 66, who has had Lalji since he was a nine-week-old chick, said he didn’t utter a word for four days after his ordeal.
“He obviously had a traumatic experience because he didn’t speak when he came back,” she said. “The first word he said following all this was ‘love you’. I felt very weepy afterwards.
“He’s a great chum and I was bereft without him.”
Lalji – whose name has Hindi origins with Lal meaning red, referring to his red tail, and ji being an informal greeting – escaped from his cage on May 23.
He was spotted by Longleat keepers on May 26 perching on a fence watching the safari park’s seven lionesses.
Resident parrot expert, Jon Ovens, from Longleat’s Animal Adventure was called in to help, but attempts to woo Lalji down using a resident female parrot failed and a large net had to be used to capture him.
Ms Chambers added: “It was a nice day, so he had been in a cage in the garden. I looked over to him and all of a sudden the cage was empty – I noticed afterwards it had a faulty door.
“I was actually on my way to the wildlife park to look for him on Wednesday morning when I got a call from them to say he was in with the lions.
“It was very scary – he could have become their lunch at any moment.”
Ms Chambers runs trips to India focusing on arts and crafts and moved to Corsley from India in 2008, after spending nine years there.
The Travels of Tweak
Tweak was hatched on 24/07/09 and has been DNA tested as female. I purchased her from Paula at AGPC as a hand reared baby so she was already very tame and friendly.
Seems as my main goal was to take Tweak out and about with my family Paula introduced Tweak to her harness at a very young age, this made getting the harness on her very easy and after a few tries of putting it on and taking it off successfully we ventured outside!
Tweak has many ways she likes to travel.
The good old fashioned way of flight:
By car:
By Pak-O-Bird -
And by Push chair:
By getting Tweak into a harness she now joins us on the school run, goes to the park, comes to the library and many more ‘exciting places’.
I hope you enjoy following Tweaks Travels.
Yesterday i spent the afternoon making up a big batch of parrot mash, which all of our pet and breeding greys all love to eat. Each time i do it i change it everytime so it is slightly different for them.
It always consists of the following soaked pulses -
I buy the soaked pulses mix from Junglegold.com and i soak them in boiling water for 12 hours or over night and then draining them that i have in one pan,
I then cook vegetables such at swede, sweet potatoe, carrots, cabbage, butternut squash,broccoli, cauiflower and anything else you want to add in, and i also add to that wholewheat pasta and wholemeal rice, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins until just soft, drain and then leave to cool.
Next i defrost some garden peas in warm water until defrosted and drain.
I then cut up different fruits such as Apple, Grapes, Blackberries, Pear and what ever fruits you have in, chop them into small cubes and mix together.
Now comes the fun part!! Mixing it all together, once the cooked veggies have cooled use a big bowl i use a washing up bowl and add all of the above pans together so you get a big bowl of mixed mash.
Then mix all together so that the mix is totally mixed up together and you end up with the following, looks good enough for me to eat!
What i do next is as i make up a large amount i then take the mix and add it to freezer bags in portion sizes or what i will use a day and then tie the bags and freeze them so they keep fresh, when you want to use one i take it out the night before and let if defrost over night and serve the next day!
And here you can see our rescue grey we took in last weekend Sammi tucking into my mash, i think we can saftley say she LOVES it!!!
By Paula
Bulgarian customs agents at Sofia airport have netted an apparent illegal entry into the country: some 107 parrots in four cages that arrived from Lebanon.
But these were no ordinary birds.
They are African Grey Parrots from Gabon, a threatened species, which can fetch between 1,000 and 1,800 euros (1,335 to 2,400 dollars) on the black market in the European Union, the customs agency said in a statement.
The talkative birds sought after as pets were brought into the country by a Bulgarian of Lebanese origin who did not have the necessary papers for transporting the parrots, the agency said.
The African Grey Parrot is on a CITES list which restricts trade of wild caught species.
The 107 parrots have found at least a temporary home, in the Sofia zoo.
10/04/10
We woke up to a lovely sunny morning so decided to go on one of our favourite day trips to Barmouth in Wales. We got the kids strapped in the car then put Tweak in her Pak-O-Bird and strapped that in the car. After alot of whistling and ‘giss a kiss’ from Tweak we arrived .
On the way there Owen had started being sick, we thought he just had travel sickness but it turned out to be a tummy bug.
We went on the beach where the kids were happily building sand castles
I was enjoying wathing and Tweak was all fluffed up on my knee
This was the first time Tweak had been to the sea side so the first time she had seen the sand. It was funny watching her walk on it at first, her feet would lift really high with each step but she soon ruffled up and started chirping and snuggling her beak into the sand.
Owen was seeming pretty Ill so we decided to make a move from our spot on the beach. Megan wanted to go on a donkey ride so we headed in that direction. We drew quite a crowd round the donkeys with more people interested in Tweak than the donkeys! The ‘donkey lady’ also had a hold of her so if your ever in Barmouth ask her if she remembers the day she had an African Grey Parrot visit her.
Whilst Megan was on the donkey Owen was ill again so we went for a sit on a bench and an ice cream to cheer him up a bit. I know ice cream wasnt really ideal with him being ill but I couldnt leave him out! When we were sat on the bench I sat Tweak by a tree and she got alot of people pointing in amazement.
When I had finished my ice cream I gave Tweak the cone which she really enjoyed shredding! Then we went home and put a poorly Owen to bed.
Well today i was reading the news and i came across this story below -
Haribo sweets were used as part of a mission to rescue a missing parrot after he was found up a tree.
Cookie, an African grey parrot, was enticed down from a silver birch tree in Lillibrooke Crescent, Cox Green, when he was offered his favourite snack on Friday morning.
The bird had been missing since Wednesday afternoon after it flew out of an open window at its home in Cox Green.
The pet’s happy owner, who did not want to be named, said: “He climbed down the tree using his beak and got to the end of the lowest branch before jumping on to my husband’s arm.”
She added: “He must have got caught in the rain overnight because he looked really clean and fluffy.”
African greys can live to more than 60-years-old and are considered to be one of the most accomplished mimics.
Well no wonder the owner wanted to be un-named giving him his favourite snack ”Haribo sweets” do they not know that JUNK FOOD has a high fat content and can lead to things like FATTY-LIVER disease in a parrot! Yes they Can live to the age of 60 plus but they wont do being fed treats like Haribo or any fatty junk food for that matter.
Whats your thoughts on this people??
A US bank has apologised after one of its contractors allegedly trashed a women’s house and took her parrot while wrongly repossessing her home.
Angela Iannelli, 46, of Pittsburgh, sued Bank of America on Monday claiming her mortgage was up to date when one of the banking giant’s contractors damaged furniture, took her pet parrot Luke and padlocked her door.
In a statement, the bank said it “sincerely apologises” and has tried for months to resolve the issue.
We say shame on them!!
Well I thought fro those of you who may be interested in purchasing a Pak-O-Bird carrier at some point I thought I would write a review of how I find it as its a little pricey at £130 (from Parrot Comforts http://www.parrotcomforts.co.uk/) So best having some idea why its so expensive.
The Pak-O-Bird arrived in a flat box and was very easy to assemble! The main body of the carrier is in one piece that just needs 2 roof supports added that press stud into place and a roof bar for extra sturdiness that also press studs on. Then all you do is zip up the sides, velcro along the front bottom and add the carry straps! There are two ways of carrying the Pak-O-Bird, on your back or on your shoulder. The back straps also have a strap that can be clicked together to join them so that its more secure when carrying. The sides of the carrier are made from a very fine stainless steel mesh so that fresh air can get into your feathered friend but insects cant! There are also flaps that cover the mesh if your bird gets a little spooked.
On the back of the carrier are two loops that enable your carrier to be fastened into a car by a seatbelt. Inside the carrier the bottom is lined with a thin vinyl sheet thats easily wiped clean and on the roof of the carrier are two D rings for hanging toys. The perch provided is a dragon wood perch which tightly secures to the sides of the carrier and can be set at 3 heights. Two food bowls also secure to the sides.
Over all Id say this product is of excellent quality and you can see its been very well thought out. No stitching is visible, so your bird wont easily be able to chew and destroy the carrier, its very light in weight making it comfortable to carry and there is plenty of room inside for your bird to sit comfortably on its journey. The whole thing can fold flat for storage and is easily wiped clean. So if your the adventurous type Id say the Pak-O-Bird is a must!!! Id give it a 9/10 only on the basis that its a little expensive for everyone, but well worth it if you want to let your grey explore the world with you.
Introducing Your Bird to Pak-O-Bird
After setting up the carrier I brought Tweak over to it. At first she flapped like crazy so in a calm yet excited voice I showed her her new ‘toy’. First of all I sat her on it for 5min or so to let her explore herself and see it wasnt scary or going to hurt her. Then in the feeding bowls I put some sunflower seeds and got her to go inside and quickly pulled over the closing flap securing her inside. Once zipped up she sat there gringing her beak and falling asleep!! I was quite amazed how well she took to it but I think the design of it makes them feel its a safe place to be. I think if Id have fastened up the side panels to cover the mesh she would have fell asleep and stayed in there So after say 20min of her inside looking rather relaxed I picked the carrier up and put it on my back, had a little walk round then placed it down. She was fine! Then I opened it up and let her come out in her own time.
Im not saying everyones birds will be as comfortable as Tweak was with it but with a little patients and a few treats you can get there
I hope this has helped anyone thinking of buying this.
Toria.
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