Mary Ann Exerts Her Will

These pictures are about Mary ann exerting her will. She has always liked picking up the silver food bowl and dropping it back into the holding ring which makes a "clink" sound. Lately, she has taken to tossing it completely out of the ring. We are no longer putting food in that bowl. I wonder if she is trying to find a nesting site? Once we removed that silver bowl, she began emptying another bowl (made from coconut shell and strongly adhered to its post). She does this latter action almost daily now that the silver bowl is gone. Curious behavior, Mary ann. I suggested we put a nest box back in, but practical as always, J said no, five budgies is more than enough.
I have read a number of budgie internet sights that malign female budgies. We have observed at least two (Mary ann and Boo) and probably more (Lola was probably female but so young, ditto for Mia, and re: Magoo, it is hard to say, s/he could go either way at this point). I must say in their defense that female budgies are delightful and each has her own personality. Both our females are more tame then the male(s), although Sutcliffe does pretty well, especially considering he came from the Pet Store "Budgie Bin". Females definitely chew on a lot more sticks. Mary ann can make short work of a clothespin in about a day or so! Perhaps this is part of the nest building instinct. Both Boo and Mary ann are more aggressive towards the other birds from time to time, but as long as they get their space, they do alright (although Boo can be a bit unreasonable about sharing cilantro and sometimes bites her dad's tail for no apparent reason).

Adopted and Beloved

Mary ann is a wonderful budgie. She is the only one who has been adopted from a shelter; the process for budgie adoption is ridiculous. In order to adopt a budgie from the pound, you need to visit twice, fill out forms, and even have a home inspection. They have set the bar absurdly high. We were about to adopt a budgie instead of getting Mia, but the hassle factor was so great that we gave in and went and bought her from the budgie bin. Couldn't they make the process a bit less of a disincentive for a pet that costs $15-25 at any local pet shop? It would be better for budgies I think, because adoption is better than purchase for most pets.

I suspect that Mary Ann was a beloved pet prior to what must have been an escape from somewhere. We don't know anything about her background so this is speculation. However, she is very tame, accustomed to finger sitting, and is quite beautiful. I can't imagine anyone ever giving her up voluntarily (but you just never know). She came from the Montgomery County animal shelter where there were several other options. I am glad we chose her.

She has been an excellent mother to her two offspring. She became very thin during her two incubations, but it plumping up again. For a while, before Magoo was conceived, she was getting so plump that she could not fly at all, even with full wings, and often fell off the perch. Hopefully the new aviary will afford her enough exercise to stay more fit. She was very unkind to Lola, but, doesn't seem to mind Mia that much, and doesn't seem to mind Boo at all despite Boo's puberty.

While she is not particularly attentive to Sutcliffe, she clearly considers him her "man". He may be overly attentive, feeding her pretty much regularly. She almost never even has to feed herself. We really love Mary ann a lot.

Happy Boos Day! January 22, 2008-Pecking Orders

Yes, another week has gone by, and once again is is BOOS-day!

To celebrate Boo's day, we'll talk about Boo's status in the pecking order, how it isn't predictable, and how it might be informative regarding budgie politics generally (warning: they are quite complex). I will list pecking orders from top bird to bottom bird and annote when and how Boo filled these various roles.

1st. Boo was top bird when s/he and Lola were alone together in a cage. In fact, Boo was so aggressive towards Lola, that I was afraid that the latter would never get to feed properly nor sleep comfortably.

2nd. Boo is currently second on the totem pole, with Mia in third place. However, when it was only her/him and Mia in the cage, Boo was decidedly "Bottom Bird". He even rolled on his back in a pathetic way when Mia pecked her/him! This led the vet himself to say "what a submissive little bird!" The order is: Mary ann 1st, Boo second, Mia third. Boo and Mia bicker a lot.

3rd. With both Sutcliffe and Mary ann in the mix, along with Boo, as well as Lola, it was: Mary ann 1st, Sutcliffe second, Boo third (although seemed close: and sometimes Boo seemed tied with Sutcliffe for second), and Lola decidedly coming in last (as always).

Where will Magoo fit into this pecking order? And what might be a good way to research the pecking order with more combinations? I am thinking: try the following combinations:

-Boo with Magoo

-Boo, Magoo, and Sutcliffe

-Boo, Magoo, and Mia

-Mia and Magoo only

-Magoo and Mary ann only

-Magoo, Sutcliffe, and Mary ann

Magoo and Mia only

-Boo, Magoo, Sutcliffe, and Mary ann

-all five (this is the long range goal for the new big cage, in any case!)

All you math and engineering wizards can probably think of a very good way to organize and research this! A matrix for this is welcome.

New Habitats

The three cage still-life we previously had, has been migrated to a one cage, two tier habitat. The new cage was purchased via "Ebay". It arrived a bit banged up, but not worth contacting the seller about. In any case, the new cage is much more harmonious, working towards restoring feng shui to the budgie world. K for one is very pleased that 1) the netting used to keep seed and feathers from flying out of the cages fit the new cage (Thanks for the netting O and O!) and 2) there will be a lot less clean up overall with things consolidated in this manner. Everyone seems perfectly happy with their new home! The bottom tier contains Boo, Mary ann, and Mia. The top tier, Magoo and his dad, Sutcliffe. As soon as Magoo seems completely healed, we will merge the two into one (a handy feature of this new cage-we can remove the middle divider and make one big cage). Boo and Mia are hardly fighting at all, and Boo seems happy, and unharrassed, as he munches on the millet seed that O and O recently sent (Thanks!). Everyone else is also enjoying the millet seed. The homes are also decorated nicely with the new Christmas toys that M and family sent (Thanks also!). Of course, the one with the baby building blocks on it went into Magoo and Sutcliffe's cage.
Magoo continues to heal. However, he is exceedingly wild. Today while K was adjusting a perch in his cage, he flew out, and flew right into the window pane. Sigh. I hope his James Dean personality doesn't lead to a similiar "live fast, die young" fate.