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Thanks everyone. Usually I prefer realism over cuteness but in this case I decided what they hey and went all out with bows and bells and biiiiig googly eyes.
Skylover you’re building quite a collection, you’ll have a fluffy army soon 😉
Fjorab I think he’s kinda lonely, all his siblings have disappeared and now it’s just him and Mr. Oversized-Orange-Organza-Bow left 🙁 Oh, if the orange bow with that blue fur is putting you off then I can change it for you, I wasn’t too sure about it but it has a weird charm. I’m going to the haberdashery today to restock on ribbon, gonna pick loooads of colours as well as some patriotic printed ones in honour of the Queens Jubilee (which I am stupidly excited about – teehee!)I did put two custom listings in the shop too, if none of those three were that enticing, where you can pick which fur you like best and the colours you want the feet and little things like that.
Well thank you so much for answering all my questions, I really appreciate your time! I’m gonna go and chew on that and wait for my books to come and digest all this information and all these stories I’ve accumulated over the past few days.
I did find – incredibly – find a breeder of harlequin macaws, african greys, conures, amazons and cockatiels who lives not 40 minutes from where I live and is reknown in the UK for being an excellent breeder and hand-raiser. She’s said she’d be more than happy for me to go to her place for lessons and just hanging out feeding chicks so … I really can’t believe my luck! I’m astounded that I found her, and very excited.
Do they get protective? Do they enjoy being handled? Are they affectionate? Do they have moodswings? Do their personalities change when they reach sexual maturity? Why aren’t they as popular as the amazon or african grey? How do they handle unfamiliar environments? How much do they eat? Are they cheeky characters or more thoughtful? Sorry for the barrage but I’m pretty excited to hear you have two!
I’m sure if I left the bird alone for a long time (say days) then yes it would go back to being untamed, but how would an hour or two affect it in a large aviary with other untamed birds? Just if I wanted it to fly outdoors in the sun while I did weeding or cleaned the chicken coop instead of leaving it inside. Ideally I’d learn free flight but I don’t think that would be sensible or safe where I live.
I’m picturing this parrot like another dog at the moment, same amount of money, same amount of attention, same level of training and same freedom to roam. My dog is like my hairy shadow and I fully intend to dedicate the same amount of time to a bird, as well as take it everywhere. I work from home, I live on my own for two weeks then my Mum comes back from offshore and my brother comes over for two weeks and that’s a typical month. I know both Mum and bro are very excited about the possibility of a parrot, Mum is pushing me to get an Amazon but I don’t want to jump in to something I can’t potentially handle.
I already have enough animals to stop me going on holiday or away for more than two days so my lifestyle is pretty adapted to having a bird – At the moment! Like you mentioned things change and I don’t know what could happen, so I would need something rambunctious that could cope with that change. Not being taken away from the family/flock, but moving around and changing scenery and routine (outside of cleaning/feeding). From all I’ve heard a conure would be a great ally, but I still feel I could take on something a little larger, with a lot more input on my end.
I just ordered one of her books recommended to me on the birdtalk forums! I didn’t know she had DVDs, I’ve just ordered one on eBay though. It was expensive but I’ve had enough people recommend her work to me to convince me to get it.
@Wampus She sounds like an amazing character! Noise isn’t so much of an issue for me, at least not from the lovebirds. I hear there are calls you can get from african greys that could make your ears bleed though :bigsmile: so I’d better watch what I say
Sorry about the double post
@Jennifer
Scotland is beautiful, I live on the coast in the North East so fishing villages, beaches, cliffs, forests and hills. Everything is either protected by the heritage council (including my house!) or a Site of Scientific Interest (like the entire Moray Firth coastline). It is a really spiritually fulfilling place to live!The self build is a long way away, we don’t have the land yet – haven’t started looking – but it’s definitely on the cards in the next few years. The first thing being built is a studio though so all indoor birds will be in there.
I’m curious, I know that if you put a tame bird in an aviary it will go back to being wild… How long does that process take? Could I theoretically put it in the large outdoor aviary on sunny days while I’m in the garden or something?
No one told me how loud lovebirds can be before I bought them haha, they’re outside in the aviary most of the time but I brought them in for the winter and it doesn’t bother me so much but my Mum… Keeps saying she’s glad she doesn’t have a hearing aide yet. 😉 They’ve been pretty quiet recently.
Do you know much about birds like the pionus or amazon? Maybe not as a starter but I’m curious.
Do you know any really useful books on parroty birds that I could get? I got a few DVDs before I bought my dog but the most useful book was about 34 pages long! More of a pamphlet. It just outlined very straightforward scientific facts and basics about why dogs react the way they react, it’s called Happy Puppy, Happy Dog by David Appleby (who actually bought a puppy from my Mum when she was breeding rhodesians). I digress – is there anything like that for birds? OR good (friendly) forums, websites… I’ve come across a few but just to hear your favourites would be great.
@Dragonmo
I did hear that about quakers, someone on another website mentioned they will watch who you dote on and hold it against them which can be really dangerous. A keeper at my local garden center said that they’re really noisy too, at least the one they have is. He said lovebirds were quiet in comparison, so I think my Mum would hang me if got one!With regards to lifespan – that’s why it’s taken me years to even consider getting one. (Sadly 14 years would match my dog – but that’s a long way away, he’s only 4 months at the moment!)
@Wampus A lot of people say green cheek conure to me, they look like very endearing little birds. I wouldn’t by the bird from a pet shop, I thought I’d narrow down the list of breeds I’d like before finding a breeder.
@LadyFirebird I live in a little village where people complain about my cockerels but we’re moving either this or next year to a more rural home. It’s going to be a self-build too so no stable routine for the next few years I dare say. I’m pretty sure this would be really bad for a bird, but I don’t know a huge amount about every breed of bird, I’m sure the larger varieties would get really upset by that but do the smaller birds get as affected or are they faster to adapt?
A parrots lifespan is my biggest hinderance and why it’s taken me years to build up to even considering getting one! I did just get a dog though and I know they’re not in the same league but commitment isn’t a problem, although I would shy away from anything more than a 40+ year lifespan due to the keen intelligence that comes hand-in-hand with it.
Don’t worry the house never was spotless! I have two aviary lovebirds in the family room at the moment that seem to generate millet husks out of thin air 😀 And quail chicks who like to kick sawdust onto the floor (that’s obviously where it belongs) and a puppy who enjoys shredding his bed and anything tissue. The morning routine includes hoovering up animal-detritus.
@Jennifer
I live in Scotland :/ I wish I lived in America when I hear about all these magical bird shows, breeders and rehoming places! There’s one indian ringneck and four cockatiels in the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals center at the moment. Apparently the IRN is very nervous and for a confident owner only.I totally agree about raising my own bird as a first, I know nothing about handling or raising parrots, I think it would be a really bad idea. Hence the cockatiel idea, there’s a garden center with an aviary locally who rehome unwanted birds. The keeper there basically said that when an old person dies the relatives don’t know what to do with their bird so they give it to the garden center, so I asked if he’d pass one on to me but it’s apparently against their policies to do that. Sadly. he gave me the number of a cockatiel breeder but that’s not what I’m aiming for really.
Thanks everyone for your help!
@Wampus A lot of people say green cheek conure to me, they look like very endearing little birds. I wouldn’t by the bird from a pet shop, I thought I’d narrow down the list of breeds I’d like before finding a breeder.
@LadyFirebird I live in a little village where people complain about my cockerels but we’re moving either this or next year to a more rural home. It’s going to be a self-build too so no stable routine for the next few years I dare say. I’m pretty sure this would be really bad for a bird, but I don’t know a huge amount about every breed of bird, I’m sure the larger varieties would get really upset by that but do the smaller birds get as affected or are they faster to adapt?
A parrots lifespan is my biggest hinderance and why it’s taken me years to build up to even considering getting one! I did just get a dog though and I know they’re not in the same league but commitment isn’t a problem, although I would shy away from anything more than a 40+ year lifespan due to the keen intelligence that comes hand-in-hand with it.
Don’t worry the house never was spotless! I have two aviary lovebirds in the family room at the moment that seem to generate millet husks out of thin air 😀 And quail chicks who like to kick sawdust onto the floor (that’s obviously where it belongs) and a puppy who enjoys shredding his bed and anything tissue. The morning routine includes hoovering up animal-detritus.
@Jennifer
I live in Scotland :/ I wish I lived in America when I hear about all these magical bird shows, breeders and rehoming places! There’s one indian ringneck and four cockatiels in the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals center at the moment. Apparently the IRN is very nervous and for a confident owner only.I totally agree about raising my own bird as a first, I know nothing about handling or raising parrots, I think it would be a really bad idea. Hence the cockatiel idea, there’s a garden center with an aviary locally who rehome unwanted birds. The keeper there basically said that when an old person dies the relatives don’t know what to do with their bird so they give it to the garden center, so I asked if he’d pass one on to me but it’s apparently against their policies to do that. Sadly. he gave me the number of a cockatiel breeder but that’s not what I’m aiming for really.
Thanks everyone for your help!
Ohhhh I’m so excited to get mine, I didn’t even see the class pic of them I just had to have one 😀
It won’t get here for aaaaaages though, it’s gotta cross the Atlantic first!Ahh that’s so exciting 😀 I’d better finish my muse so I can submit it. If you need a hand running it I’d be happy to help!
Thanks Adaneth!
Here’s another new one, Uisge the water dragon.
A video I made of him down at the beach!
Thanks so much Sasha!
Just bumping to point out the two new dolls in the OP, leaf kirin and starling griffon. Both handmade, both looking for homes! I’m getting closer to my goal of realism, I think, still a while to go but closer than I used to be.
That’s such a lovely story, my biology teacher used to fascinate me with similar stories of birds flying into windows and then coming to life again just with the warmth of her cupped hands. I love when swallows sit and chatter away to each other, they are such lovely little birds.
I forgot to show this one back in the festive season, John commissioned me to make a doll for Melody as a Christmas present from him to her! Here’s what I came up with:
I used all my best materials at the time, peacock feathers I collected from a wildlife park, pheasant feathers sent to me by a friend, the softest fur I have which was a gift from someone on DeviantArt… I tried my best and had great fun with it.
OHHH SO WONDERFUL! A tiny squiggly puppy!! Mum used to breed rhodesian ridgebacks when I was tiny so I spent a lot of time in whelping pens. We just got a large munsterlander puppy before Christmas, here’s a pic of him at 10wks
He’s 13 weeks on Wednesday and FULL of beans. I think it’s really great that you’re so close to the breeder and that she didn’t mind you coming and seeing the blind pups, the breeder of our pup was so nervous about everything and it really rubbed off on her dogs and on our pup.
I was following a cool one today for a butterfly plush! It’s in German but google translate does an okay job of translating.
http://ellis-animals.blogspot.com/p/schmetterlingstutorial.html
her plushes are incredible and she’s very friendly. 🙂
Squeak!!! I would LOVE a GB poad! The last bag was so beautiful and I missed them, I really want to start my collection with a Poad too.
Ohh gosh Leigha! I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until now! Yes I do, I can put you on it if you like but I have 40 other people on it at the moment so it’ll be some months before I get to you.
Here’s my latest doll, a swallow gryphon! He was going to be for trade but he turned out below my selling standards but way above my keep-for-myself standards so I’m a little torn. Maybe some day I’ll let him go but not now. 🙂 He has real swallow feathers for tail and wings (from some poor dead starved birds I found in a clock tower) and his wings fold like a real birds do
