Caryl

Ryanjury and I will see it ourselves tomorrow as we are visiting kiwiplymouth and taking him some fish (they are still alive and well kiwiplymouth !) :bounce:

He had a very messy bath this morning! :lol: Water went a looong way! Pepper likes to duck his whole body under then climb up on your shoulder and shake like a dog. Then we sat in the sun to dry out. I have seen red mites in budgies and there is no sign of them, or the other ones, on this bird.

I've seen no sign of mites and Pepper doesn't seem to be scratching. Grant's just been called out again (back to Nelson). So much for having a day off :evil: After almost an hour away from Pepper my eyes settled. Now I have him back so will see if the eyes get worse again. Here's hoping it is something outside and not the bird. Bud did not sit on my shoulder all the time so I was not as close to him for such long periods as we are with this bird.

Is it possible to be allergic to a conure but not a budgie? I have the feeling I am reacting to Pepper. He has spent a couple of hours sitting on my shoulder and now my eyes are red and sore. I was fine earlier and no problems the past 2 days when he has gone to work with Grant. It happened the other day too but I thought it was hayfever, although I did joke that perhaps I was allergic to Pepper. Perhaps I have always been allergic to birds but a budgie is too small to cause a reaction :-? Hmm this might be a problem unless Grant takes him with him all the time. Not sure if the headache that has been coming and going is connected either (I don't think so) but I rarely get headaches, just a migraine once every 7 years or so :roll:

Does it get more natural or direct light at this time of year than at other times? Have you been doing water changes? I have algae trouble in summer when the water table is low (I think the concentration of nutrients is higher - that's my theory anyway) so avoid water changes until the rains start again :roll:

Good point :-?

It's rude to gloat :lol:

Well I'm not doing it!!!!

It will depend on the angle I suspect

I don't think I still have pic but will look when I get home from work. I took some of Warren Stilwell's big tank when it had several 100 neons in it. I love the look of a big tank with large shoals of a few species. Their colour is superior and they shoal like they should. Several 100 harlequins swimming together look spectacular!

I saw one of the shop people hold him enclosed in his hand then he also turned him over so I know he has experienced that much. You can stroke his back too. I didn't say I was going to pull the wings off! Cricketman if you think I am going to offer you a home so you can lie on your back, roll around chirping to yourself and holding your feet while you plan world domination I am afraid you are in for a disappoinment! :lol:

Then your rats go too bdspider!!! I can't see how you can call yourself bdspider then demand the death of other ones :lol: A very nice specimen. 8)

Ok I am locking this as it is going around faster than the wheels :roll:

We will start pulling his wings out then so he gets used to it. It might help us figure out which bits are which matching the diagram! :lol: Still wondering how long it will be before he can actually fly and how we know (apart from having him take off) when it needs to be done. I hope we get some warning :-? There is quite a bit of conflicting, or different, advice out here so I am going with Jennifer and Mark. Tha American site made me laugh as it gave all the options for getting fruit and veg in a way that seemed to assume the majority can't just get them from the garden or fridge. Pepper now has his own little lunch box made from the stuff chiller boxes are made with with an area his bowl fits in plus 2 smaller areas for water dish and a small seed dish. This goes with him in the car.

We will probably need tips on restraint when the time comes. My dad used to clip chicken wings so he will probably have a good idea on what to do. The website Livingart recommended also has detailed instructions I believe but I have been reading so much other information (have printed out a "Conure Instruction Manual") I have not looked at that bit yet :roll: The day out with Grant went very well and both seemed to enjoy themselves. They went up some very rough tracks so I am sure Pepper got plenty of exercise just clinging on to the headrest! He has spent the evening on Grant's shoulder making regular little chirrup noises so we hope that is good :-?

box (I was going to put cardboard after McD but changed my mind :lol: )

What is the tank sitting on? I found a filter became noisy when I shifted a tank onto a less dense cabinet. Perhaps it is vibrating with resonance (or whatever) with the stand. What sort of lid is on it? Are you able to put a small piece of wood, metal etc across the top corner of the tank then hang the filter from this with a bit of string or fishing line? Arrange it so it is almost, but not quite, touching the glass.

He took towels It went very well. They came home to reload then headed off down the Sounds. He wondered if Pepper got carsick as he upchucked a bit of seed at the top of the Weld pass but thinks it was coincidence as it was otherwise fine. I doubt birds get carsick since they are designed to cope with getting blown about in trees! He took Bud's old cage as a standby on the passenger seat and apparently Pepper spent most of the time sitting on top of the cage or on the headrest.

tasteless

Wouldn't rain water be fine?

I am a Scrooge and refuse to pay the highly inflated charges they have for food at cinemas. I go (on the rare occasion I actually attend a film) with a bag pre-loaded with cheaper nibbles from the supermarket To get back on topic (sort of) do not feed Tangy Fruits to your axolotl. The sugar content is not good for them (and the water probably isn't good for the Tangy Fruits either) :lol:

Pepper has just gone off to work with Grant so he will get to visit a couple of cell sites on top of local hills 8) He went outside with Grant, just sitting on his shoulder, and stayed there while Grant loaded the truck. We can only do this if we continue to keep his wings clipped. How long does it take for them to grow out enough to fly and is it cruel to keep them clipped? He has never had the opportunity to fly so I doubt he will miss not being able to. He can glide about 3m but not so good at landing :roll: I want Grant to take him to work with him as he is the one who wanted a bird and with the long hours he is working, Pepper never sees him and will bond with me by default. I want him to bond to Grant. Jennifer; how long do I have to cook the haricot beans? I have been following the instructions for the red kidney beans to get the lectin (or whatever) out of them but don't know how long the others take to reach the required cookedness :-?

No

Why does he have a cage if he isn't allowed in it? :-?

I kept mine in a large triangular fibreglass fish pond. They were in full sun all day every day and on the north side of the house so high temps weren't a problem for the ones I kept. A different species perhaps.