#keukaswill

[flockdynamics]

YO GUYS TOTALLY CHANGED MY URL

It's flockdynamics now, which is what I originally wanted it to be (it's the title of my blog) but it wasn't available when I first made my blog. Now it is, huzzah! (I also debated something like katiesbirds or katiesparrots (if those are even available) but I think I like flockdynamics better?)

I've been wanting to change it to have something bird-y in the url for a while now, and I finally did. TRY NOT TO BE TOO CONFUSED. I probably waited way too long to do this, but I think it needed to be done.

If you need to look at an old link or something, you should just be able to replace "keukaswill" with "flockdynamics" in the link and it should work I think I hope.

[pepperandpals]

keukaswill replied to your post: Check out this little guy I saw at the...

I see these a lot at the petco/petsmart around me, even though they’re not terribly common apparently. It’s the only place I’ve seen them but I see them all the time. The chain must have a breeder somewhere?

Yep, this was at a Petco. They must have a breeder if you see them often there. I've never seen one before this one. It was pretty cute and friendly.

[pepperandpals]

keukaswill replied to your post “if you were to recommend a more friendly, cuddly bird, would you recommend a budgie or a cockatiel?”

I agree that a cockatiel is a better choice. I think that would be true even of hand-raised budgies, BUT in general in my experience, most people don’t hand-raise budgies, whereas most people DO hand-raise cockatiels.

And on that note, budgies aren’t usually hand-fed BECAUSE they’re pretty easy to “tame down” (to the extent that budgies tame down) whereas parent-raised cockatiels (and basically anything else) are MUCH harder

Yeah this is true. It is not too often that you come across hand raised budgies. But, if you are looking for something smaller than a tiel, but still friendly, it’s something to consider. A roommate of mine had a budgie that was just as friendly as Pepper when she was younger that was the result of hand raising.

I don’t have experience in taming down tiels, but if you go with a tiel, make sure it’s hand raised for sure. So be careful with chain places like Petco or Petsmart. I haven’t seen a tame cockatiel from them. Try looking up breeders or even if there are going to be any bird shows near you soon. Adoption is always another option with sites like Pet Finder.

[thefreckledfish]

keukaswill replied to your post:Because my mother is amazing, she sent something...

I love spaghetti squash! But also, I didn’t know you were gluten-free! My sister is, too, so we do a ton of gluten-free cooking/baking here

I'm not completely gluten free- my mother is trying to be because she has slight allergies to gluten, but I'm up for anything that is healthier and tastes great. I switched over a lot of my foods to gluten free subs because they taste good and they are healthier. :) We've always tried to be healthy with food, but ever since I was diagnosed with t1d over a year ago, we dove deeper into the research. XD I'd love to know some good recipes if you have any to share. We love playing with recipes. freaking bettycrocker just came out with gluten free brownies and cake

mixes! We're in love.

[thefreckledfish]

keukaswill replied to your post:so, a while ago, I saw a post that said goldfish should only be kept on a bare-bottom or sand tank. Why is this? I'm not too fish savvy xD

Is it possible for the goldies to ingest the sand and have it cause impactions/issues the way it can for reptiles?

Nah I don't believe so. Fish naturally sift through the sand and small debris to find their food and are able sift out anything non-food via their mouth or gills. :) I suppose anything's possible, but I don't think it's a really worry for fish. Great question.

[horatioandalice]

keukaswill replied to your post “Telling the gender of budgies is (mostly) easy, but how can you tell the gender of a cockatiel?”

Also also, you alluded to this, but the yellow (or white, in whitefaces!) mask in adult normal or cinnamon males is VERY bright and distinct and definitely means male.

Yes!  I did kind of bury the lead on this one, lol.  Thank you!

[horatioandalice]

keukaswill replied to your post “Telling the gender of budgies is (mostly) easy, but how can you tell the gender of a cockatiel?”

Also, in pearl cockatiels, only females retain the pearl markings as they get older--males lose it in their first couple of molts!

Thank you!  I totally forgot about this!

[horatioandalice]

I'm going to be unoriginal and ask you the same one you asked me (but I like it, it's a fun question!). #11 from the bird asks!

Spencer likes to randomly roll onto his back.  Sometimes he just hangs out on his back, sometimes he rolls around, and sometimes he scoots around.  This evening, he was in the budgie cage, and decided to lie on his back near one of the cage walls and drag himself around using one foot on the bars.  He used this tactic to chase poor, confused Horatio around a little, which was pretty hilarious.  He also has a habit of putting his head down against the back of the couch and then running back and forth, which is bizarre and REALLY adorable.  Conures are so weird.

Beatrix has a habit in the mornings that before she'll eat her veggies and grains, she has to go into her cage and make sure nothing has changed overnight (since she sleeps in a smaller cage in the bedroom).  She does a little tour of her day cage, then, when she's satisfied everything is as it should be, she comes out and eats her breakfast (and usually some of my breakfast, lol).

Horatio's main habit is CONSTANT FLIRTING, mostly with Oliver, but also somewhat with Violet and inanimate objects.  Lately in the evenings he's also been going into Spencer's cage to eat his food while the other budgies go hang out the playgym, and then gets flustered because he can SEE the other budgies, but he can't figure out how to get to them (seriously, I love Horatio, but he is NOT very smart), so he sits on a perch close to the playgym and chirps at them loudly.  I don't fully understand how he can get INTO Spencer's cage just fine, and can get out LATER in the evening, but gets so confused by the sight of the other budgies on the playgym he loses his ability to navigate.  Poor Horatio.

Oliver is obsessed with the non-budgie birds.  Beatrix is terrified of him because he'll come running over if he sees her on the playgym.  He just wants to flirt with her, but she doesn't like budgies, lol.  Spencer and Oliver, on the other hand, will spend time flirting with each other--they preen each others' beaks, and Spencer even tries to twitter back at Oliver (which is adorable).

Violet has proven herself to be the smartest of the budgies, in that she's figured out that if she ends up on the floor, she can scurry over to Spencer's cage, and then jump and flap her wings and get ahold of the front of the cage, after which she can just climb up wherever she wants to go.  None of our other budgies ever figured this out (although I think the boys are learning from watching her, because I saw Horatio do it yesterday, and Oliver did it tonight, but Violet's been doing it for weeks).  She's a smart little hen!