AUGUST 2003 JOURNAL

Hi ya all, August is here, but by the golly,  sure is staying nice and cool here this summer.  Roses may be out, but sun sure is not!  We don't mind this weather at all and you can be sure Jo's not complaining.  We all know the tourists around here are not too impressed with our cool summer!  , Buy hey, Jo's just a grining.  She's been asking Louis to build her a nice fire pit on the front side of the property.  He done did it for her.  Beautiful round brick, pretty high too.  Now they sit out there at night, put on a nice little fire and talk ABOUT US!!  Oh ya, we can hear them, heard them saying just last night  that I was going to get to tell the gossip this turn round.  That's me up the top of the page here.  Just the most adorable slate pied whiteface you ever saw, huh!  Got a sibling almost looks just like me, only marbles a little lighter with the slate markings.  We are both going a long, long ways away Jo tells us but at least we get to go on the plane together.  

Remember those silvers in the  picture next door here.  If you keep up on the gossip and pictures, you'll remember the first five pictures are taken right smack out of the April 2003 Journal.  Jo wants you all to be able to see the difference, (if any)  in the little cinnamons and silver whiteface babies of Misty and Noah's.  They have five new babies upstairs now, two cinnamon silvers (their pictures are here already!) and three silvers.  Jo's gonna take more pictures tomorrow and post here for you.

O.K, so the pictures she took today are here.  Some kinda cute huh.  Just turnin four weeks old and what little scamps they are.  They are now in their little apartment with their stuffed teddy and it's just too cute.  Jo's over at the brooder feeding the wee ones and she looks over to see four little heads (the youngest of the clutch is still in the brooder), just high enough to peek out the wire, wondering where their food is!  They get those little feet going, doing the two step as Jo calls it, just bobbing all around.  Jo just loves watching them at this age.  Feathering just coming in nice on their heads, but still standing straight up!  

So now you want to hear the scoop on those big guys we got come to live here.  Yep, Sophie and Soloman are here!  And some kinda pets they are!  Soloman, he is the baby of the two, just loves everyone.  Jesse has already taken to calling Soloman his and just loves carrying him around.  Sophie, being the older of the two and not having been worked or played with, is still very timid.  Jo is giving her space and time and she's coming around, but still very nervous.  Jo puts them up on top but today Soloman after half hour or so, had enough.  He just wanted to be touted around.  You go near the cage or talk to him, and he reaching out for you to go get him.  Jo was really nervous BB would be jealous, but has not bothered her one little bit.  Long as she gets her attention, she is just fine.  Probably matter of fact, she's been even more spunky the last couple days.  Jo got her this long bell this week.  Well this is just too funny as Jo linked it to the top of her cage on the same rung that it's slide up over her water dish .  What does BB do but take that bell, put it in her water dish and took FOUR baths in the water dish yesterday, flipping the bell and playing the whole time!  Impressed I would hope to say as this is the VERY first toy she has been able to get BB to display any interest in whatsoever.  Soloman and Sophie's favorite toy on the other hand is one Jo made out of hemp rope tied into lengths with lots of knots and leather.  They have played with that non stop.  Sort of like the one in the picture next door here only their's had leather instead of beads.  

By the way, all the toys next door here are just some of the ones that will be in Jo's Toy Section.  The birds just love these.  Then there are those ladder perches, as Jo calls them, and they just LOVE them things.  No only does it give them a nice place to sit, lots to play with at the same time.  Jo sells lots of them here.  They are made with 19 cage stainless steel wire threaded with wood blocks, buttons and beads, 100% cotton rope, hemp rope, leather strips.  The ladders she paints with Wilkins food dye as it is 100% safe for the birds as well.  Complete with a stainless steel pear link to attach to cage.  Just let her know if you want one.  Then there's those teddy bear leather toys.  Hopefully soon she's stop making toys and get the page up!  

So have we told you we have three pieds and two violets - or so we think they will be - in the brooder now.  There in the pictures next door here too.  Five of Jessica and Lucas's kids.  Then we gots linnie babies of Pascal and Azul, some from Nadine and Nigel, some from Shrek and Fiona and some from Cuddles and Reggie.  Cuddles, still ever so cranky, but one GOOD Mom.  Feeds those babies just caulk full, same as Pascal and Azul.  Jo feels she should whisper it, but she said to say she has one  lutino baby.  She pulled it today as Pascal, that's the Mom,  was feeding the babies SO full, they could hardly roll.  The eyes are just open and and she's almost ready for banding.  

Corky and Courtney have two babies hatched so far and are being the model parents as well.  Brooke will start hatching hers next week some time Jo says.  So this weekend there will be a big switch around, as about 5 new pairs are going to nest.  Jesse and Jody are one pair going out and Jo thinks she'll put Queen Betty out as well.  Says she's had a good long rest, she's going to actually give her a nest box and put her out in the Breeding Hut and see what happens.  

Off to feed babies midnight snack.............

Jo just had to run and get the old camera this morning!  She comes in to feed us our breakfast and what does she find but us three violet whiteface babies just fresh out of the bath, sittin proud and wet as chicks can be!  We sort of got a little bit of a talkin to as Jo says why could we not wait till after we made our mess with breakie!  

Means were here, may as well and give you a little scoop.  Queen Betty and Barney are getting another chance, first time in a year and a half, in the Breeding Hut.  Dear old Betty is just so excited, she's hardly come out of that nest box!  Just a chirpin and lettin everyone know she is there, let me tell you!  Then Jo's got two more pairs of linnies out to nest.  She's gonna pull a fast one this time she says.  Tilly and Tidbet are the couple that always hatch out the creamino babies, only they get scared off by the eyes and bury them right away.  SO this time Jo is gonna do a switcharoo.  Soon as all the eggs are laid she is going to completely switch two parents sets of eggs and let them hatch each others out!  Let's see how this works!  

Jo's got Pascal and Azul's babies up stairs now and she's still not sure if one is going to be a lutino or creamino.  Pascal had these babies so full of food all the time, Jo has never seen two crops stretched out so much.  That's why she pulled them.  Said it was time anyways, but holy smokes their crops are just sagging.  Today's the day I think she's gonna band them.  Case you haven't checked the babies page lately, Shrek and Fiona (Jade green and sky blue) did really well.  They hatched out a sky blue, a cobalt and a green.  And here Jo was figuring on all green's!!  Fooled her.  So now Jo's got more parents carrying splits then she figured to get this combination of babies.  Matt and Mattie are Shreks' parents and Lucy and Linus are Fionas parents.  

O.K. short and sweet update but Jo says she's gotta change all the water bottles on the big guys and get her chores done (so she can come back to play with us nice clean babies!!)

Update - you want to see a couple happy meyers babies now!  Got no picture here just yet for you, but Sophie and Soloman got themselves a Hagen cage today, hammertone blue and man is it big!  They think they died and went to heaven!  Took Soloman all of two seconds to get in, make himself at home and get right now to playing with all his new toys! Did we tell you Jo's grandson had originally wanted Jo to call Soloman Sponge Bob?  Jo's laughing now and saying she should have, as that is just what he is = A Big Sponge!  Sophie, she's coming around, but  Soloman just wants to be with Jo all the time.  Jo gave them one of the ladder swing perches you also see next door here.  All the other birds, specially the linnies, just love them and so does Soloman.  He's having a grand time with it, spinning the wooden blocks round and round, then chews on the leathers and ropes for awhile, then swings for awhile.  Tomorrow Jo's gotta make them a nice big happy hut as she does not have any made right now that is their size, just for the smaller guys.  

Ollie, the nice olive linnie next door here, made it safe and sound all the way to Wabush, NFLD this week.  His new family is just thrilled with him.  Now we have one of the little violets next door here going to Saint John's, NFLD this week.  That trip won't be quite so long as it took to get to Wabush.  

Now we must tell you, the little linnie that of Pascals is a little creamino girl!  Just as cute as a button and so far, alls well with her and all the rest in the brooder for that matter.  The little set of 5 silver whiteface lovebirds are doing just great and growing fast and furious.  Then there's those little pieds that are just too cute.  Jo's gotta take more pictures of them tomorrow as she wants to compare their markings with Jessica's and Lucas last clutch of pieds.  We'll get her to post some pictures here for you's all to see the difference.  They have 3 pieds, 1 cobalt and 1 d/f violet in this clutch.  Courtney and Corkey have two babes in the brooder but Jo cannot tell yet if they will be single factor or double factor.  Then Jo gots a big surprise this week as Brooke and Dhillon have hatched three of their babies so far.  Now to date they have had two clutches but all the babies have been black eyes.  This clutch, so far they have two with dark plum eyes.  Lou's thinking they could very well be more silver babies, so they are pretty excited to see the outcome here!  

Tula and Grady, out there sittin on 6 eggs and are doing really well this time round.  Tula's hardly plucking herself at all this time, so Jo is very, very happy about that.  This time round Jo added extra shredded paper in the nest box for her, and is hoping this is what has helped prevent her from plucking herself again.  Jo says she has NEVER seen the Breeding Hut so busy and SO SO quiet.  Everyone of them are down to business and not brothering with nothin else.  Going to be a busy, busy time round here next month when all these guys start hatching at once.

Me here Guys, Tim the little hubbie of Tulips.  I know, I know Jo and Lou have to get our Parents Lineage Page updated, cause I'll bet you we are not there yet.  Anyways let me tell you about my little adventure this week.  Well Sundays round here Jo usually gets up, feeds us adults and all the babies and then you guessed it, goes back to bed for a late snooze!  Sunday she goes back to bed for her usual snooze and gets woken up by a panicked Lou.  Jo gets up and runs downstairs to the Resting Room to find me sittin proud as can be in BB's home, opposite side of course!  Me and Tulip has escaped from our home out the little side door and as BB house bars are nice and wide, decided to pay her a visit.  Really Jo thinks she was scared to death of me!  Jo got me right out and took me back home.  Fun was over for the day.  

Means I am here, may as well tell you the rest of the news.  Let's start with those pictures Jo put here of the little silvers.  Just absolutely beautiful Jo and Lou say.  Two of them are cinnamon silvers and I hear they are all going tomorrow to get DNA sexed along with the little violet pieds, couple slate masked and a little green linnie.   They have not been clipped as some folks want them to grow up to be Mama's and Daddy's not just pets and man are they a going concern.  Their favorite pastime .........seeing who can get in the food cup first!  Did you ever try and feed five excited hungrey babies and not have a mess to clean. Not only off them, but Jo ............the floor........the drawbridge.......... Not a second thought are given to manners coming  into play at this time of the day!  Jo bought some tiny Zupreem pellets yesterday to try with the baby linnies and gave them some.  Well did they love them things!  Sort of got Jo in a real stew now as they have never gone to Hagen pellets that quickly.  Could be as they were so nice and tiny, which at first Jo had to do a lot of thinking before buying them as she was afraid they would gobble them up and choke they were so small, but that's not happening.  They are just munching them right down.  BB, Sophie and Soloman, the meyers eat the big Zupreem jobs and they really like them as well.  BB takes and soaks everyone first before she eats them, but that's O.K.  Now if the linnies will take to them that nicely Jo would be really, really happy!  She also gots a bunch of the bigger ones, so she'll gradually work them up to the bigger ones and leave Hagen in their home as well and see what happens.  Hopefully they will eat both as they say variety is the Spice of Life!  Not one of us here that dosen't like our soaked seed, plus our veggies, plus our treats, so ya, we gots a pretty good variety.  Means garden time is here, we've really been getting a variety of veggies lately.  We all got our likes.  Me and Tulip. we'll eat just bout anything Jo gives us.  Sophie she loves her cauliflower, Soloman lovessss his hot red dried peppers but seems that boy will eat most anything and everything.  BB she loves her organic bread Jo buys them, toasted of course!  Sometimes Jo will spread a thin layer of peanut butter, sometimes not, but she eats it right now either way.  Now show BB a cracker and look out.  She's got her foot up, cracker between her toes and ready to be put back home to enjoy her feast!!

Let's see what else.  Miss Sabreena, her brothers, Kelley her Mom and Dad came to visit Jo today.  Sabreena is just such a sweetheart.  She starts school this year and is just so excited.  She has Stitch,  a pied whiteface and Saucy, a pied of Betty and Barneys if you remember.  The family is now on pins and needles as Stitch is sitting on six eggs.  No one is sure if Saucy is going to be a proud Dad or not as the whole family and Jo all would have swore that Saucy was a lady.  Guess about 15 days from now we all will know and Miss Sabreena will be one excited little girl.  Jo put her up on a high swivel stool and she sat so intently today as Jo fed her babies .... watching and watching and telling Jo she had to learn as she was going to be feeding her babies!

Brooke and Dhillon have all five babies hatched and three of them are going to be either silvers (wishful thinking!!) or cinnamons, which will be a first for that pair!  Jo and Lou are a little anxious to see them feather in.  Pascal and Azul, their babies have feathered in now and are the proud parents of a a creamino and two slates.  One slate was already spoke for and within an hour of determining they had two, the other was sold.  Matter of fact, Jo's just thinking as she's typing for me here, their whole clutch is going to the same home.  One of the little slates is a little one that Jo's been feeding since a day old as for some reason Pascal figured she did not have to feed the first baby hatched.  

Jo also wants me to tell you bout this Yahoo Group she is a member of.  It's called the Atlantic Canada Bird Lovers Group.  If you live in Atlantic Canada please feel free to sign up and join them all.  They had their first annual gathering yesterday of a lot of the members for lunch and the afternoon and all had a fabulous time.  Imagine 40 some folks all together talking and swapping stories about nothing other than their fine feathering friends.  Some of the members brought some babies.  We had two beautiful macaw babies.  Really they were huge and probably almost weaned.  The wing span on those fellows is awesome!  Lots of members brought toys to share, including Jo.  Everyone agreed it was so nice to be able to put faces to names that you read email from on a weekly/daily basis.  The makings for another next year are already in the works.

So now just tell me, What's the scoop here!!  Ditching me here, up on Sophie and Soloman's cage, in the middle no less!!  Good thing I have a good sense of humour, all I gots to say.  Soloman there just had his bath and that's pretty funny to watch!  O.K. enough with us for now, suppose your wondering what's the feet next door here.  Well Jo just wanted to show you how the colour of the feets and toes are dark and light.  These  are two of Corkey and Courtney's babies and that's about the only way you would know that these two babies are pieds. One, you can hardly tell at all as it's only the little forward toe thats light.  This is the only indication whatsoever that Jo can see so far to tell her that they are pied!  Mind you they still have a few feathers to come in, but by looks so far all the feathering colour is pretty even!  One single factor whiteface and one double factor.  

Guess we had better get Jo on the ball and post up some of those pictures she gots of the beauty violet pied babies of Jessica and Lucas's.  We'll run for now and get some of those ready and get a head start on September's Journal.  

TINY RASCALS AVIARY