I took this picture of Stella yesterday in order to compare her feather growth since her first day with us. Obviously in these past two months all of her mutilation sores and residual blood are gone. Her feather quality has greatly improved, and she's filling in more. I've found downy feathers in the bottom of her cage, but I'm not sure if they are due to plucking or normal molting. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the feathers near her vent are growing in nicely.I don't know if she'll ever be fully feathered. She's only 5, so there's a good chance that she can be. As long as she's happy, it doesn't really matter.
She's taken a few flights, usually when something scares her, and she's managed to navigate around corners and land relatively well. Her outermost flight feather on both wings is in the process of growing in, so once they are in, we'll start concentrating on flight training.
Here she is, this morning. I placed her on the table, and she found one of my chapsticks -- a girl after my own heart!
Now that strawberry season is pretty much over, I can move on to my next fruit obsession: peaches! A local company brings truckloads in from Georgia, and it's something I look forward to every summer. Delicious!
Thomas was attempting to do the crossword puzzle in the paper yesterday afternoon. Having been up for 36 hours straight, he was a bit punchy and having trouble with the clues. He started drumming his pen on the table, and Rocky started jamming.As I do every Wednesday, I went to the local farmers' market yesterday. Thomas was able to come along, and when he's there, we buy more. Our fridge is stuffed with vegetables -- bok choy, baby bok choy, salad mix, arugula, onions, carrots, dill, basil, potatoes, wild berries, and more I'm forgetting.
I've been able to buy the lizards' food here for the past few months, which means they get local, organic food that I'm sure tastes better than their normal store-bought diet. I was cleaning the swiss chard I'd bought, when my greens monster had to come over for a little destroying. I still don't get what Max finds so enticing about greens!!!
6 comments:
Does Max just like ripping up the greens or does she eat them?
Good question. I think she pretty much just rips them up, but if she's on her stand and I give her a leaf, she seems to eat some. But she's a pretty messy eater, so I suppose I can't be sure!!! Yesterday she was definitely just ripping them up!
Y'know, the more I read your blog, the more jealous I get. First strawberries, now peaches?
Mmm, fruit.
Also, I like the name Stella. It's a lovely name for a lovely bird.
Sammi,
Thanks for the compliment on her name. I'm pretty happy with it, but it was so hard to choose!
I think the peaches are the last fruit event of the summer, so I have to enjoy them while they last!
Excellent work on Stella! I do parrot behavior consulting and inevitably it's the humans who are causing the problems, especially with greys. I'm glad you know she may never re-feather completely but the important thing is that you love her naked or feathered.
I'm jealous, too!
BP -- I completely agree with you. Most people don't realize that bringing a grey into your house means big changes for the humans. I honestly believe that most people mean well, but just aren't equipped to deal with them. I know Stella's previous owners have called the rescue inquiring about her now, and they loved her a lot, but it didn't go well in their home.
Thomas and I hope to have a grey sanctuary someday because they are so often misunderstood.
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