Eucalyptus has arrived! C found a tree down at his place of work (sunny California) and very kindly and generously harvested a lot of leaves and twigs for the budgies. Thanks C! That is very kind.
It arrived in a box, some of which was packed in plastic, some not. The Plastic wrapping seems to have been very effective in keeping it quite fresh. the non-plastic wrapped is also good, but a bit drier.
The budgies are ecstatic! I put some in their cage the other night, while they were sleeping. Upon awakening, there it was!
The have been enjoying taking tiny triangular bites out of the leaves, and chewing the stems. Boo in particular likes rubbing against the leaves. Mary ann is quite the stem chewer! And Mia and Sutcliffe are heavy leaf eaters. Of course Magoo is an active particpant as well, mainly by hopping about between the leaves and twigs. I look forward to giving them a shower to see if they enjoy it with the eucalyptus vapors!
Aside: re Budgie sense of Smell: While it is not known (at least in my reading) whether or not budgies have a sense of smell, there is no doubt in my mind that they do. While they may recognize eucalyptus by sight, I am betting that the smell is quite important to them. And, they can also differentiate well between cilantro and parsley, which look alike.
Because of the ways the budgies are reacting to eucalyptus, I am guessing that it has both a nutritional benefit (since they eat it) and a medicinal/grooming benefit (because they like to rub it). Perhaps this is a way to prevent vermin in the wild? Or maybe they just like to perfume their bodies. If I were a budgie perfume vendor, eucalyptus and cilantro would certainly be two fragrances I would sell.
NB:Because of the process of cleaning the house for trying to sell it (prior to the move to Texas), I can't seem to find the camera. Mary ann has chewed through the webcam. Therefore, posts may be sans images until the camera is located.
Posts
