just for the record.....

I recieved a comment on the last post, which i do want people to do and have no problem at all with it....but i feel that i need to address this comment.  My blog is about my experiences with all my animals, not to be confused with going out and buying a bird, dog, ferret, etc....just because i don't post how hard it is to keep up sometimes or how much hard work it really is, not to mention the expense.  IT IS but that isn't what this blog is about.  I have a strong love for animals and want to share with everyone what kind of interactions i face with these wonderful creatures.  I don't mention the costs or time put in because i knew what i was getting into with each and every one of these guys.  i would hope that everyone would research, research, research, and then talk to other owners, then calculate time and cost before comming to a decision about purchasing or better yet, adopting any animal or bird.  i have very strong feelings when it comes to abuse, neglect, an even improper diet and exercise.  so please guys, when you read my posts please keep in mind that we do have a daily schedule and absolutly no life outside of the house lmao.  also keep that in mind before placing a pet in your home....do you have the time and are you willing to put the pet first?  we go above and beyond for our guys and we wouldn't  have it any other way.........i hope you are all continuing to read my posts, i am enjoying sharing with all of you and please keep the comments comming, good, bad or iffy lol.

phoenix, the umbrella cockatoo

well, i decided to write a bit about phoenix today....he is quite the little character!  he has learned to cry like a baby when he doesn't get his own way!  its commical and evidentally he thinks so too. 
every single morning when we get home from work and make our rounds turning on lights and preparing everyone's daily morning breakfast consisting of their regular pellets, fresh water and veggies and fruits....phoenix can be heard "dod, are you done yet?".  then after a bit he will begin to cry and yell "hey, you forgot the bird". 
yesterday, daddy got him out of his aviary and phoenix's immediate response was "did you have a busy time with work?".  It still stuns my husband how much this bird understands and is able to state what he wants so clearly. 
when phoenix was a baby, only three months old, we brought him home.  a few days later he was on the table and douglas and i were sitting there, douglas asks phoenix "what can i do for you?".....phoenix replies  in a scratchy voice "water".  we both were stunned and at a loss for words.  i don't think my husband really understood what a joy and i might add "chore" this parrot was going to be.  neither one of us can be away from the house for very long together before we begin to stress that we aren't home with our birds and making sure they aren't lonely and that they are in fact safe.  i'd say about an hour into whatever we are doing, like going for dinner, is when we both begin to stress out.  then, of course, we are both in quite a rush to get home.
being that i'm home during the day and dad is at work, phoenix doesn't get a chance to miss mommy.  when dad pulls in the driveway, i will either hear "daddy's home?" or he will just go absolutly nuts when he walks in the door.  here is where i'll end for now.  hope you all enjoy this post!

puppy may need surgery

we took ryder to the vet first thing this morning after noticing something very wrong with his eye.  it almost looked like some kind of cist on the corner of his eyeball.  of course i was freaking out as usual over any pain my babies may have.  daddy was the trooper and strong one and said he was going to be just fine.  anyway, the vet said it is his third eyelid that had popped out.  he also said in these small dogs that it does happen and most of the time they need surgery to correct it.  he goes back on the 18th for a follow up and then we will know if this little guy is going to need surgery.  he also has an infection in it and is on antibiotic eye drops 4 times a day.  boy he really hates that!  i mean hates it!  anyway, if he needs surgery the doc said he will wait until ryder is old enough to be neutered also and do them at the same time.  reason being, his face is still growing and he doesn't want to do it until ryder is about full size.  this little fella has not had it easy.  first he ingested one of the birds beak blocks and was rushed to the er vet for that, now this.  i will do an update on ryder on the 19th.  vet appt is for 5pm on friday. 

updates on all the feathered and furries

I'm so very sorry its been so long between posts.  A friend reminded me of that fact today.  So, I thought i'd take some time and write a bit.  Please feel free to comment.

Cockatiel aviary:
Due to some activities in the aviary, we realized our latino we thought was a male is in fact a female, and our "normal" that we thought was a female is infact a male!!!!  Came as a bit of a shock to me.

picture created by win lampe

cockatoo and conure update:

I moved sumoc and cayenne's cage over next to phoenix's aviary.  They talk to each other and eat at the same time.  they even appear to try to play together.  the cages are just far enough apart so no disasters happen.  i roll the conure cage to a different area for cleaning and until i bring them back, phoenix has a royal fit.  he really enjoys their company and they his.  BUT, i don't dare let them play together for fear of some very serious consequenses.  safety first!

update on the new puppy:

Ryder is doing very well.  He is quite the little love and has fallen into household routine quite well.  he is a wonderful little dog.  boy is he growing up fast! 

Ferretts:

i noticed some weight loss in one of the little girls about a month ago so i began giving all three of them a high calorie supplement, because, well lets face it....if you give one ferrett something and not the other two they will go completely bezurk on you.  anyone that has ferretts can attest to that and to their little pissed off dance, not to be confused with their happy dance.  anyway, this is amazing stuff!  it not only put the weight back on her but shined up all of their coats and softened the fur, these babies have never looked better!  if you are interested in purchasing it, it is called "nutri-cal for ferrets" and i order it from www.petsolutions.com

this weekend will be a much loved bath/play time in the big bathtub so they can snorkle awhile. 

I will begin posting some pics of all the pets soon.  i am digging up some baby pics of each one to post along side the recent pics.  its proving to be a bit time consuming so bare with me please and if i don't get it done in a timely manner, feel free to let me know. 

emergency vet call for the new puppy

Last night I found a beak conditioner block laying on the floor and partially chewed. This was one of the ones with the sand particles in it. I picked it up thinking, I thought I threw this in the trash when I took it out of the cage…..
About 20 minutes later the puppy, Ryder, began vomiting pretty badly. I was immediately on the phone with the animal emergency center and then we were out the door with this little puppy that we have only had for one week.
I drove, Douglas held the little guy, not a sound out of him and he just laid in his baby blanket all snuggled up.
An x-ray was promptly taken when I showed the vet the beak block and told him what I thought happened. Sure enough there were small pebbles on the x-ray. Being a puppy the course of action taken was the least invasive for him. He was given an injection at the back of the neck for dehydration due to the vomiting. Then an anti vomiting drug which has greatly helped him. An adult formula is to be administer for two days and the extra anti vomiting drug every 12 hours if needed.
As for the clinic and the vet that saw our little bugger…..wonderful. Dr. Thomas Hass, DVM, was amazing. He took the time to explain everything for us and provide anything and any information we could have asked for. He went well beyond the call of duty to help us and to inform us.
Update: Ryder woke up with us to get ready for work and was his peppy old self, drinking water and chewing on some of his puppy chow. The little trooper drank his formula and seems to be a lot better considering his terrible night.

how we got each.....

Someone told me recently that i should post about each animal, so I'm going to tell all of you a little bit about how we ended up with each one.  i will try not to make this real lengthy. 
phoenix:  umbrella cockatoo:  we had gone to the pet store for some supplies and i was allowed to go in the room housing all the baby birds.  i talked to each bird a bit and then turned around to find this beautiful three month old cockatoo staring at me.  i began talking to him and he raised his hand and clutched my finger and did not want to let go.  my heart melted and as we turned to leave i looked at my future husband with tears in my eyes.  he ran to the cashier and put down a deposit, came back and said "as soon as i get the rest of the money around he is yours".  boy did i cry and was so happy and excited.  phoenix will be 2 years old on April 19th of this year.

Kasha:  latino cockatiel:  i knew a woman who breed cockatiels and i went over to look at them with the intention of getting one.   when i got there he was in a cage with another cockatiel but get this, it was an extremely small parakeet cage.  i was blown away by this and knew i had to get him home and into something a lot bigger.  i bought him a parrot cage. 

Bella:  white faced gray:  kasha needed some company from another bird.  when i picked her out the woman at that particular store got pissed off because Bella would not co-operate with her so she very viciously used the net to get her and in the process broke a blood feather on her.  we took her to the vet the very next day as soon as we realized what had happened.

sumoc and cayenne:  sun conure and Nanday conure:  funny story.  last thanksgiving we drove all the way to Illinois and back to adopt these wonderful birds.  seems they have had numerous homes due to their vocal ability.  this will be their last unless they outlive us.  we love them dearly.

okay, Bella and kasha laid their very first egg last year in the spring.  we did not remove the egg and were very excited.  in the end she hatched two very beautiful babies.  weather is a pure white latino and raine is a normal.  in the fall, four babies were hatched.  we sold one baby to a wonderful older couple that love Silas so much. 

next post I'll tell you all about our four dogs and three ferrets. 

This week, Douglas (my wonderful husband) got me an 8 week old shih tsu. He is beautiful, great personality, and very cuddly. He will not replace Mikey but he does help heal all of our hearts including the three other dogs.
I’ve not found a picture of Mikey to post yet, but I will. I know I have one on disk somewhere so I will do my best to find it and get it posted.
Here is a picture of “Ryder”.